


Jersey Style Pizza

by Ilmare_Ilse



Series: Coco Puffs: The complete Collection [7]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ficlet Collection, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Season 2 spoilers, Season 3 Spoilers, Season 4 Spoilers, Season/Series 05 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-10
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2017-11-16 00:43:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 51,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/533598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ilmare_Ilse/pseuds/Ilmare_Ilse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mozz, sauce and dough... Maybe a little pepperoni from time to time, but never any kind of fruit! This is a place to keep the many short stories that keep coming to my head. Mostly centered on Detective Danno Williams, inspired mostly by season 3 and 4. Expect some Spoilers</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Alone in Deep Waters

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! This will be a new group of stories, some inspired by Season 3 and others by any random thing that crosses my path.
> 
> This one has some spoilers for Episode 3X03, so tread carefully.

This was officially a crappy day for detective Danny Williams. Sure, catching that huge Tuna fish was a little bit awesome, but, as it happened with most good things in Danny's life lately, it all went to hell in a hand basket in the blink of an eye.

From their boat being taken at gunpoint, to a shark wanting to turn them into freshly cut sashimi, to Danny being forced to share Billy's story, to the whole dead body in a boat fiasco, the day just kept better and better.

Chin's suggestion was one of the few bright spots of the day, so with Max's unguent in hand, he accepted Cath's offer for a ride back to HQ.

He didn't get a chance to try the unguent though, because he had to keep moving from the lab, to the interrogation room, to booking, because of course that the crazy shit storm that was his day would end up with the murderous wife being shot by her sister in law.

Half an hour after both Scates and Jenny Burges had been booked, and Danny was stuck filling 1001 reports. The fact that the headache he'd had tried to ignore ever since they stepped on dry land didn't want to be ignored anymore, and that the letters on the screen decided to go out of focus every few minutes was not making his work any easier at this point.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly for the 100th time, trying to avoid the red and itchy skin on his forehead. He sighed tiredly, looking at his screen again, and almost got a heart attack at the sound of a voice right next to his chair. "Hey Danno… What are you still doing here?"

"What?" Danny whirled around in his chair, his balance a little off, but his partner's hand on the arm of the chair prevented any unpleasant accidents.

"Why are you still here? We can close the paperwork on Monday, there's no reason for you to still be here…" Steve asked, looking at his friend and noticing dark shadows under his eyes and the redness of the skin on Danny's forehead and nose.

Danny was too distracted by the hot poker stabbing him between the eyes to understand what Steve was saying. "What?" He asked again, while pinching the bridge of his nose.

Steve frowned, crouching next to his dazed partner. "Hey, Danno… You okay?"

Danny blinked a couple of times, trying to get Steve's face into focus. "What?" He asked again. Hell, he was tired, and things weren't exactly making sense right now.

Steve huffed in annoyance and got to his feet, pulling Danny along with him. He carefully steered him towards the leather couch nearby and sat him down. Moving quickly to the kitchen, Steve returned with a bottle of water and a granola bar. "Alright Danny… Have you had any water since you came back to the office?" Steve asked slowly, trying to get Danny's attention.

Danny thought a minute about Steve's question. "Hmm… I think I had a cup of coffee…" Danny said, slumping on the couch and raising a hand to press his fingers against different parts of his forehead in a half hearted attempt to massage the headache away.

Steve raised his eyebrows. "A cup of coffee? Are you crazy? After almost 4 straight hours under the sun, you come back here and have a cup of coffee? You could have gotten a bad case of heat exhaustion, or even heat stroke! What were you thinking?"

Danny lowered his hand to glare at his partner. "There's A/C here at HQ, I wasn't hot anymore…"

Steve shook his head, opening the bottle of water. "Even if you were not hot, I bet you were dehydrated! You probably wouldn't feel as bad as you look right now if you had taken some water or Gatorade when you got here!" Steve grumbled, shoving the bottle at Danny.

Danny took the bottle from Steve's hand with an annoyed huff and raised it to his mouth intending to drink the whole thing in one long gulp, but before he could swallow the first drink, Steve took the bottle back. "What the hell do you want now, huh? I was going to drink your precious water!"

Steve shook his head in annoyance. "Small sips Danno! Unless you want me to spoon feed it to you? Trust me; neither of us would like you to break your streak right now…" He said, passing the bottle back to Danny.

Danny took the bottle back and started drinking the water again, this time in small sips, as his annoying partner had instructed. "I wouldn't worry so much if I were you…" Danny said, stopping to press the cold bottle against his red forehead. "My streak is long gone anyway…" He finished, with a sad sigh.

Steve looked up, surprised. "Really? When did that happen? And why didn't I know about it?" He said, with a smirk.

Danny didn't bother to remove the bottle to glare at Steve. "Believe it or not, Steven, I don't feel the compulsion to share every little detail of my existence with you, especially those related to my stomach deciding to rebel on its master…" He lowered both the bottle and his eyes, finding the label on the bottle a most interesting sight. "I… I broke my streak the night after Rick took Grace…" He finished in a low voice.

Steve sighed sadly, moving to sit next to his partner. "Alright, Danno, sorry I asked… Drink your water, and then I'll drive you home, ok?"

Danny raised the bottle to his mouth again, taking small sips as Steve had instructed. Apparently his partner had been right, because his head had started to feel clearer, even if the headache was still there. "You can go home, babe… There's not much more paperwork left to do anyway, and I might as well get it over with now…" He said with a shrug. The truth was that the last thing he wanted to do right now was going back to his small apartment and spend the rest of the weekend alone, doing nothing, that's not how this weekend was supposed to go.

Steve raised his arm and placed it over Danny's shoulders. "Come on, Danno… What if we go to my place, have some beers, and throw some steaks to the fire… I know that our trip didn't go as planned, but we can still hang out on dry land, right?"

Danny finished the water and just let the bottle drop to the floor. He pressed the heel of his hand against his eye socket, trying to will his headache away. The truth was that not only their trip hadn't gone as planned, but the whole weekend. Grace was supposed to be with him this weekend, and they were supposed to go to the zoo, and some new water park that she was dying to visit, but a sleepover at a friend's house had Grace calling him to beg off the weekend, and Danny couldn't deny her that.

The reason why the badly planned sailing trip happened at all was that Danny just happened to be within the Super SEAL earshot, so he had made it his personal mission to keep Danny from wallowing too much in his own misery. That's how they had found themselves in that floating death trap, and how he'd ended rehashing the reasons why he hated the sea so damn much.

Something Steve had said suddenly clicked in Danny's brain, so he turned to look at his friend. "Beers… You've been bugging me to drink water and now you're inviting me over for some beers?"

Steve shrugged. "Well, you can have a couple more bottles of water, and then you can have a beer… What do you say?"

Danny leaned forward, burying his face in his hands. "I'm tired Steve… I'm tired of this place, I'm tired of trouble following me everywhere, I'm tired of having to fight for every little minute with my baby girl, I'm tired of the sea and the pineapples, I'm tired of being alone all the time… I'm tired of losing the people I love because of my mistakes… I'm tired, Steve…" He suddenly seemed to realize what he had said, and more importantly to whom he had said it and turned to apologize to his partner. "Shit! Steve… I'm sorry… My problems are nothing compared to… I'm sorry, babe…" Danny said, shaking his head and lifting bloodshot eyes to his friend's face.

Steve squeezed Danny's shoulder, lifting his other hand to stop his friend's apology. "You're not alone, Danny…" He said, completely disregarding the apology as unnecessary.

Danny gave a tired chuckle. "I didn't see anyone at the marina waiting to see if a shark had eaten me or not…"

Steve shook Danny's shoulder in annoyance. "Don't be stupid, Danno… You know that there are plenty of people that would care if you became fish bait. I know I would care, and I promise to be there waiting to give you a hug the next time you almost get eaten by a shark…" That got a soft chuckle out of the blond man sitting next to Steve. "Come on… You've had a crappy day, you had your worst fears coming back to haunt you and you still managed to mostly keep it together… You deserve a break! Come over to my place, we can hang out for a few hours, you can crash there and tomorrow we can call the team, even take your massive Tuni fish to Kamekona and see what he can do with it… What do you say?"

Danny thought about it for a minute. He could really use his family right now, but other than Gracie, Steve and the rest of the Ohana sounded like the best next thing. "Alright, lead the way, Super SEAL…" Danny said with a smile, moving to stand up from his place on the couch.

Steve stood as well, but instead of moving to the door, he placed his arm around Danny's shoulder, propelling him forward. "We're going together, Danno…"

Danny moved towards the door with a smile on his face. Yeah… If there was one certain thing in his life, and it was that Steve would never leave him alone. Sometimes he was not entirely sure if that was a good thing though…

* * *

The End


	2. Enough Tuna for all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I'm not sure if this one has spoilers or not, but it's meant to come after the end of 3X04, so be warned!

**Enough Tuna for all**

* * *

After a relatively nice meal at Kamekona's, everyone was ready to head home.

Steve, Catherine and Doris were going back to Steve's place to spend an unpleasant and awkward family evening, Kono and Chin were planning to hang out at Kono's place and Danny had a meeting with his lawyer.

Since it was time to go, everyone started reaching for their wallets. As usual, Steve patted his pockets and came up empty handed, so he turned to his partner with a shrug. "Sorry Danno, I left my wallet in my other pants… Next time's on me, ok?"

Danny sighed but gave a resigned nod. "Sure… Next time…" He said with an eye roll.

On hearing Danny was buying, both Chin and Kono grinned happily. "That's so nice of you, Brah!" Kono said, patting Danny's hand.

Chin, in turn squeezed Danny's shoulder. "Very kind indeed… Next time is on me, ok? After Steve's turn, of course!" He said with a big smile.

Danny rolled his eyes good naturedly, for once not caring about having to pay the tab, again, since Chin was smiling again, and that was worth much more than a shrimp meal. "Yeah, yeah… Steven over here seems to have short term memory issues when it comes to his wallet, so I'm guessing we'll be waiting for the new millennium before he buys…" He stood up with a smile, taking the check and moving back to Kamekona's truck.

* * *

Kamekona was just finishing plating some steaming garlic shrimp and smiled at seeing Danny with the check on his hand. "Well, little Haole, come to pay for my services? That's for me the best part of your meal!"

Danny winced slightly, but chuckled anyway. He moved closer to the big man, speaking softly. "Listen, Big Man… I'm paying for the meal, but I'm a little short on cash at the moment, and my credit card is a bit overstressed…"

Kamekona raised his eyebrows. "Why don't they pay, if you're short on _kala_?" He asked, looking at the rest of the team.

Danny crossed his arms in front of his chest in a defensive gesture. "Supposing that's what you're saying, I'm not short on money… It's just that my rent is due next week and I have to pay for my lawyer today, and Grace needs some arts stuff for school and wants me to go buy it with her this weekend, so I just want to make sure that I have enough for those things… About the rest of them, everyone else seems to have forgotten their wallets, as usual…" He said with a shrug. "I'll pay you next week, maybe the week after, but I'm not short on cash, just a little cautious…"

Kamekona studied Danny for a minute and then took the check for him. "Alright brudda, I'll start a tab for you…" He said with a nod of his head.

Danny smiled, relieved. "Thank you babe… Just… don't tell them about it, ok? Don't want them to worry over nothing…" Danny said, glancing at his team, still sitting at the table.

At Kamekona's nod, Danny checked his watch and moved away. "Thanks again, my man… Gotta go, I have an appointment in 15 minutes! See you around!" And with a quick wave, Danny moved to his car and was gone.

* * *

Kamekona looked at the table and with a sad shake of his head moved to a freezer nearby. Picking up a large tray, he moved to the Five-0 table. He dropped the heavy tray over the table, crossing his arms across his chest. "So I heard you left your wallets at home? You'll have to pay for the meal with work then…" He said, looking pointedly at Steve, Chin and Kono.

Steve frowned. "What do you mean we have to pay? Didn't Danny pay the bill?"

Kamekona nodded. "Nope… It seems he forgot his wallet home as well, but he said you'd cover his part… Hope you don't mind getting your hands dirty…" He finished, with a nod in the direction of the large tray.

Chin sighed. "Is there any chance you'd let us pay you later?" He asked, already knowing the answer to his question.

Kamekona winced. "I don't believe in debts or in keeping tabs for customers… I prefer tangible forms of payment…" He said with a nod.

Kono rolled her eyes. "And how do you expect us to pay for the meal?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

Kamekona uncovered the large tray, revealing a few large tuna fishes. "Nothing too difficult. I just need some help to clean some fishies!" He said with a large smile.

Steve sighed, turning to Cath. "Hey, would you mind driving my mom home? I'll be over as soon as I'm done here…" He asked with a pleading look.

Cath didn't seem to like the idea too much, but didn't see any other way out of the awkward situation. "Sure… no problem…" She said, with a forced smile.

* * *

Steve walked Cath and Doris to Cath's car, and by the time he was back at the table, Kamekona had cleared up all the dishes and placed three large tuna fishes on the table, the smaller one in front of Kono, one slightly bigger in front of Chin and the biggest of the bunch on the empty spot where Steve was sitting initially. There was another tuna, about the same size as Chin's still in the tray in front of Kamekona.

Steve took the sharp knife placed next to his fish and looked at Kamekoma. "Alright, how do we do this?" He asked the large man.

Kamekona moved closer to Steve, wielding a knife of his own. "Well, brudda… You have to take out everything you're not free to use… Think of it like your paycheck for instance…" He said looking at the large fish.

"Since your house is already paid for, you only have to worry about some monthly bills, no rent or mortgage… right?" Kamekona continued, raising the knife and chopping off the tail of the tuna.

"Other than that, money for food and some other daily expenses…" The large man kept explaining while moving the knife again and taking out the fins and some skin.

"Oh! And don't forget the taxes!" He kept talking, chopping off the fish's head with a well practiced move.

"So that leaves you with plenty of nice and delicious meat to work with…" The big man finished with a flourish, leaving the clean fish in front of Steve and moving to Chin's side.

Kamekona studied the fish, and after a minute of studying it, he started cutting it as well. "Well, it looks like you're paying a mortgage for your house, my friend…" He said, chopping off a larger piece of the fish's tail that seemed darker and not too fresh.

"Other than that, you have plenty much the same stuff to take care of as McGarrett…" He chopped off the fins and the head as well, leaving in front of Chin a medium sized peace of fish. "But you are still left with more than enough to manage comfortably…" Kamekona said with a pleased smile in Chin's direction.

The big man now moved to Kono's place looking at the smallest fish in the bunch, placed in front of her. "Well, you don't have as much to work with as these two, but it looks like you have a good lease agreement from your cousin… and not as many expenses…" He said, chopping off just a small portion of the tail and fins. After he chopped off the head, he was left with a larger piece of fish than Chin's. "You see? You're better off that your cuz over there!" He said with a smile, nodding in Chin's direction.

Kamekona finally moved back to the tray, taking out the last fish and placing it in the spot where Danny was sitting initially. He shook his head sadly, studying the fish in front of him. "This poor fellow is as big at Chin Ho's, but looks like he's paying a huge rent…" He said, chopping off a large piece of the tail.

"He must also have to pay some alimony; maybe contribute for some expensive school for his child?" He continued, chopping off another piece of the fish that also looked not fresh.

"Add to that an expensive lawyer, specialized in custody matters…" The large man said, chopping off about a third of the fish's side that also looked bad.

"And of course the usual taxes and regular expenses… Doesn't leave too much to work with…" Kamekona finished with a sad sigh, looking at the small piece of fish left in front of him.

The big man looked up at the people standing around the table, and was pleased to see that they realized how smaller the piece in front of him was, not even reaching half of the smallest one of the three of them.

Steve seemed to think about it for a couple of minutes, finally taking his knife and cutting half of his piece. "Well, what if I give him half of mine?" He asked, looking for confirmation from his friends.

Kamekona shook his head sadly. "Well, a good tuna fillet don't come in pieces, does it? The color is not the same, and the flavor will probably be different too… It'll feel like a meal made of charity and it doesn't deserve that… On the other hand, maybe it'd be better if you can make the fillet larger… with stuff like remembering your wallets for a change…" He said, with a pointed look at the three people around the table. "Or maybe finding a way to get a larger fish?" He moved his look to the leader of the team, returning his piece of fish back to him.

Steve nodded, looking at Chin and Kono, and finding their implicit agreement. "Yeah… I'm sure we can do that…" He said.

* * *

A couple of weeks later, Kamekona found himself face to face with a fuming Danny Williams. "What did you tell them?" The shorter man asked him in a soft and angry voice.

Kamekona gave Danny his best innocent look. "What'd I tell'em? I didn't tell 'em nothing! What should I've told 'em, brudda?"

Danny shook his head. "I don't know what you did, but you did something! Every since that day they've been acting strange! And it's all your fault!" Danny ranted, pointing an accusing finger in Kamekona's direction.

Kamekona frowned. "They're acting strange? Strange how?"

Danny shook his head sadly, passing a hand through his hair. "Well, they're acting strange… In the last two weeks, Steve has taken my car to question some witness or some other stuff about ten times, and at least five of those he has returned it with a full tank of gasoline! At least five! And during the same time, either Chin or Kono have come into work in the morning bringing breakfast for the whole team at least four times! They've brought Malasadas, coffee, even Coco Puffs a couple of times! And they never did that before!" Danny ranted angrily, waving his hand wildly in the air.

"And you know the worst of it? The day before yesterday Steven went to talk to the Governor and managed to convince him to get a 10% raise for the whole team and for Max too! He doesn't need a raise! I'm sure he's not sure what to do with the money he makes on a regular basis except for spending it on Cargo pants! So why would he go to the Governor for a raise, Huh?" Danny finished angrily.

Kamekona chuckled, patting Danny roughly on the back. "Well, brudda… Maybe he thinks his team needs the money to pay for all the gas and breakfast they're buying now?" The larger man asked, trying and failing to look innocent.

Danny shook his head again, trying and failing to look annoyed. "Don't know what you did, Big Man, but you managed to make it look like it was nothing intentional on their part. Doesn't mean I like it any better, though… Anyway, I guess I should thank you for it in any case…" The shorter man grudgingly extended his hand to Kamekona.

Kamekona ignored the extended hand, patting Danny on the back again and making him stumble a step forward. "I didn't do anything, brudda… No thanks are necessary!" He said.

Danny regained his balance, and moved away from the larger man, and in the direction of the car. "I'll never understand Hawaiians… Crazy people, all of them!" He grumbled, while getting into his beloved car and driving away.

Kamekona chuckled and watched the Jersey detective drive away. He was happy that his Ohana had realized a good way to help, and he was even happier that for once the proud man had accepted the help without putting too much of a fuzz about it. He went back to his truck with a spring in his step, he had shrimp to cook!

* * *

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading!
> 
> This little story came about by how much care Danny put into counting the $50 that he had to pay the fortune teller... He has complained about money in more than one occasion and I didn't like that Kono automatically assumed that he has more money just because he earns more than her.
> 
> Anyways, I'd really like to hear what you think of this one!
> 
> Thanks again, and I hope to see you soon!


	3. The Living are Scarier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This short story was written for a prompt of by [SBG](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SBG/profile) in a Halloween Prompt meme. Her propmt was: Gen or S/D is fine. Rated G-R. Five-0 hosts a haunted house in their offices. This could be cute/fun, or it could be the perfect opportunity for the criminal element to try something really stupid. ;)
> 
> I hope you like it!

* * *

Danny didn't really have a problem with Halloween. He didn't have any real issues against Haunted Houses, but when the Governor of Hawaii forced Five-0 and half of all available HPD officers to host a haunted house at Iolani Palace, Danny was not a happy man.

Well, if he was being honest, other than himself, nobody else looked like the Governor had twisted their arms to make them dress up and welcome people of all ages into the creepy building, in fact Danny was probably the only one that hadn't dressed up for the occasion, choosing instead to keep his usual combo of well pressed slacks and dress shirt. He was on bodyguard duty after all.

Danny looked resignedly at the object of his surveillance. Governor Denning had gone all out with his Halloween celebration, expending an insane amount of money in decorations, skulls, pumpkin lanterns and all kind of spooky stuff that jumped from the walls at the most inopportune moments, and hiring a couple of teams of creepy looking actors that followed the visitors around, creeping them out and generally making them squeal like a girl.

The Governor, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying himself far too much, laughing gleefully at the spooky characters that jumped at him from time to time and at the reaction of the people all around him. He was the Governor of Hawaii for Christ's sake, and he was wearing a plastic knife through his head and apparently had bathed himself in ketchup! Apparently part of Five-0 was also affected by this night craziness, since Steve was running around dressed up like some kind of ninja zombie, and Kono was dressed like a creepy vampire, shiny white eyes and all that. Chin wasn't really in a celebratory mood, but didn't want to leave his team on their own, so he was outside; helping the security staff that checked who could come into the palace.

Well, Danny had a job to do tonight, and the craziness all around him wasn't making it any easier. The fact that they'd left all of their weapons in the locked safe upstairs at their office, for safety reasons, Steve said, didn't make Danny feel any better about his current situation.

"This is not a costume, Maam, this is my regular work attire…" Danny replied tiredly to the hundredth person that had asked about his 'costume'.

" _Well, you know I kept some fake blood in my pocket, if you want to dress up a bit, Danno…"_ Danny heard his partner's voice in his ear, sounding far too gleeful for his taste.

Danny shook his head, but stopped himself when he realized that Steve couldn't really see him from his position downstairs. "No thank you, Steven. I have no problem looking like a normal person, unlike you and Kono, who decided that the best way to look professional tonight would be making yourselves look like crazy bloodsucking people!"

" _I'm the bloodsucker one, but I think the boss leans more towards brains, Danny."_ Came Kono's cheeky reply.

Danny rolled his eyes, smiling in spite of himself. "Alright, if we ignore the specifics of undead monsters, is there anything we should worry about on your end?"

" _Everything quiet around here, Danno…"_ Steve's voice was followed by a terrified screech, a recorded one that kept sounding every few minutes.

" _Nothing to report around here either…"_ Kono's voice followed.

" _Over here we're having coco puffs and coffee, in case anyone is interested."_ Came Chin's amused report.

Danny shook his head at the unfairness of it all. While Steve and Kono were having the time of their lives spooking clueless visitors and Chin was enjoying the greatest pastry ever invented, he was stuck watching as a bunch of over excited people were waving plastic knives in front of an equally over excited Governor.

Wait a minute, if they were waving plastic knives, how come that guy's knife shone like that? Danny thought, focusing his attention on a real looking knife somewhere in the chaos. "Guys, we have a situation!" Danny barked, while moving closer to the Governor's position.

Danny agreed with the idea that having their weapons in display while they were surrounded by people being spooked and scared was not the best idea, but when Danny could clearly see a guy coming at the Governor with an 8 inch knife, he truly wished he had kept at least his backup piece. "Hey buddy, why don't you drop that? Huh? We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself, right?" Danny said loudly, lifting his hands in a placating gesture.

The knife wielding guy stuck out like a sore thumb. It was not the crazed look on his face or the gigantic knife on his hand. Sadly for Danny, it was the guy's outfit; well pressed shirt and slacks made him stand out among the group of people in summer attire and Halloween costumes. He shook his head, moving towards Danny and the Governor with renewed purpose.

Most people around them were smart enough to move away, but most of them didn't really leave the room, probably thinking that this was some kind of skit, which forced Danny to make an extra effort to keep the guy's attention on himself instead of any innocent bystander or even the Governor. "Hey, hey! Stop right there! Drop the knife and put your hands in the air!" Danny barked, with an air of authority that he hoped the crazy looking guy would buy.

Unfortunately the crazy guy didn't buy Danny's bluff, so he looked around in search of the Governor and when he found him he raised his knife and charged at him with a furious roar.

Danny had only a second to make up his mind, and had just enough time to sprint in the guy's direction and tackle him to the ground before he could reach the Governor. They rolled to a stop against a large table with drinks, which of course fell all over them and made things even stickier for Danny. He had heard his shirt ripping a couple of times, and if that hadn't enraged him enough, the large bowl of punch currently dripping on his slacks was finally enough.

At least the large glass bowl had fallen over the crazy guy's head, stunning him enough for Danny to deliver a sharp punch to the guy's elbow, finally making him drop the butcher's knife, and then a second punch to the guy's nose had him rolling away from Danny, stunned.

Danny stood up, shaking off the food and beverages that had fallen on him as best as he could and he moved towards the crazy guy, still rolling on the floor in pain. Fortunately he had kept his handcuffs in his pocket, so he pushed him to lay on his stomach and pulling his hands behind his back he handcuffed him and pulled him to his feet.

Danny looked around and spotted Sergeant Lukela coming his way. He pushed the crazy guy in his direction, trying to get rid of him as soon as he could. "Could you take him to booking? He tried to attack the Governor, he was carrying this…" Danny said, crouching to pick up the huge knife with two fingers. When he straightened, he had to blink away black spots from his vision, but managed to give the knife to the older officer without incident.

The sound of stomping feet made Danny turn around, and sure enough, Zombie Steve was coming through the hallway, finally managing to move through the large crowd trying to move down the stairs. He stopped in his tracks at the sight of Danny and chuckled in sympathy. "I thought you were not wearing a costume, Danno!"

Danny shrugged tiredly, feeling a twinge of pain in his side, probably the adrenaline wearing off, he figured. "As usual, things didn't work out as planned…" He said with a tired sigh.

Steve turned to look at the crazy guy being carted away by Duke, and frowned in thought; he turned to Danny, looking in concern at his shirt. "Danno… If he's only bleeding from the nose, where's all that blood coming from?" He asked more urgently pointing at Danny's shirt while moving quickly to his side.

Danny frowned, looking down at his shirt. Other than the icky pineapple punch (why did it have to be pineapple?!), there shouldn't be anything else on his shirt, but sure enough, there was a large red stain on his side. Where had that come from? He wondered. He lifted confused eyes to his partner, but before he could reply, his knees folded and he was falling to the floor.

Steve caught him before he could hit the floor and lowered him gently the rest of the way. "I need EMS here now! Clear up the hallways and get me a medic!" Steve snapped into his comm. and moved to lift Danny's shirt, finding a couple of superficial slashes on his side. He took a piece of gauze from one of his many pockets and pressed it into the wounds.

Danny was lying there in a daze. He wasn't following very well what was going on, but the feel of steady pressure on an already painful spot on his chest effectively woke him up. He tried to double over, but a large hand on his shoulder stopped his movement. "Easy Danno, I'm just trying to stop the bleeding, ok? Do you have any trouble breathing?"

Danny frowned, not following what Steve was asking, "What?"

Steve shook Danny a bit, trying to get him to focus. "Danny, does it hurt when you breathe?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Of course it hurts when I breathe! My side was slashed by a crazy asshole with a butcher's knife! Did you expect it not to hurt? Huh?"

Steve chuckled. "Alright, fair enough, but does it feel like he punctured something? Any shortage of breath or strange feeling?"

Danny thought for a minute, he tried to hold the gauze himself, but Steve kept pushing his hands away, so he settled for leaving them at his side. "Don't know… It doesn't feel like he popped my lung or anything like that, but it's not just the slashes… I… I think he broke something…"

Steve patted his arm comfortingly. "Yeah, he probably cracked a rib or two, but it's bleeding quite a bit… Just relax, buddy… the medics will be here soon…"

Danny closed his eyes for a minute, listening to the movement around him. The sound of scrambling feet and the feel of someone kneeling at his side made him open his eyes again. He wished he hadn't, a second later, when the sight of white, shiny eyes and bloody fangs had him trying to scramble away from the scary figure at his side. If he happened to squeal like a girl, he would blame it on blood loss and shock, and would stick to that story for the rest of his days.

"Shit! Danny, no! It's me, Kono!" Came the familiar voice from the scary creature, only now the glowing eyes and bloody fangs were gone, and Kono looked down at him with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry brah…"

Danny shook his head. "Don't scare me like that, woman…"

Kono squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry, Danny, I just came to let you know that EMS are just pulling up at the door, and that Chin is leading them upstairs…"

Danny looked down at his blood stained shirt and thought of Chin and Malia. Chin shouldn't have to see him like that. He reached out and caught Kono's hand in a bruising grip. "Chin… no… don't let him come…" He told her, trying to get his point across.

He felt Steve's hand squeezing his shoulder again. "Danno… He needs to make sure you're alright, just like we did…"

Danny sighed tiredly and nodded in understanding. He didn't have time to do anything else before the paramedics were upon him. They bandaged him, dumped him in a gurney and poked him with a couple of needles and suddenly he didn't feel any pain, making things even fuzzier than before. He looked around and saw Chin and Kono standing to the side. "Hey Danny, how are you doing?" Asked Chin, with a concerned frown on his face.

Danny gave him a dopey grin. "'m good, babe…" He turned to Steve, who was standing next to his gurney. "Hey, babe… Tell Rachel…" Steve widened his eyes and started to protest, but Danny kept going. "Tell Rach that I was right… This creepy party was no place for her to bring my sweet M'nkey…" He mumbled with a frown.

He turned to Chin and Kono again… "I told you guys that this h'nted house thingy was a bad idea…" He finished, with a put upon sigh.

He heard Steve's chuckle from somewhere above his head, probably behind the gurney. "Yeah Danno, you may have mentioned it about 20 or 30 times…"

Danny sighed tiredly, trying to settle himself more comfortably on the gurney. "You see? Why b'ther being spook'd by the undead, when the living are scarier?" He mumbled grumpily, finally closing his eyes and letting the nice drugs take over. He'd let his team try to make sense of this whole mess for once.

* * *

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading! I'd love to hear what you thought of this one! See you around!


	4. A Man's Worth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all. Just in case, this story was inspired by episode 3x06, and therefore deals with September 11.

_The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving_

_Albert Einstein_

* * *

Steve had barely managed to get half an hour of solid sleep before he was rudely awoken by the sound of his phone ringing. He groaned, reaching for his phone with the sole purpose of pressing the ignore button, but the sight of Danny's name on the screen made him sit up in his bed and take the call. "Hey Danno, I'd think that you and Gracie would be sleeping by now…"

Steve could hear a soft chuckle from his partner, but it didn't sound quite right. "Well, Grace is probably already asleep. I dropped her off at Rachel's a while ago…" Came Danny's shaky reply.

Steve frowned, not liking the sound of his friend. "That's too bad, Danno. I thought she'd stay with you tonight…"

He could hear Danny sighing sadly. "Well, apparently Rachel's civility ran out once I told her the terrorist threat was contained."

Steve shook his head in sympathy. "So, where are you now buddy?"

Strangely, it took Danny a couple of seconds to reply, and when he did, he didn't really answer Steve's question. "Well, I figured that with the crappy day we both had, maybe we could have that beer now?"

Steve frowned, glancing at the clock at his bedside. It read 1.43, and the thought of going out anywhere almost made him crawl under the covers again, but he couldn't leave his partner right now. "Sure, no better time than the present! Why don't you come over? I have a couple of six packs in the fridge, and if you want to crash here we can crack open a bottle of scotch I've been saving for a while…" He said, with as much enthusiasm as he could.

"Yeah… That'd be good…" Came Danny's shaky voice. "It's just that… Steve… D'you think that… Would you mind coming over to pick me up?" Danny finished in a rush.

Steve really didn't like the sound of his partner, so he quickly got out of his bed and put back the clothes he had dropped around, moving to the door. "Sure Danno, no problem. Where do you want me to pick you up?" He said, trying to sound as normal as possible.

"I… I'm…Shit…" Danny started, sounding uncertain. "After I dropped Grace off I drove around for a while, but then… I had to… It kinda hit me… and I had to… had to stop… stopped by the side of the road… no idea where… can you… Steve, can you come over?" He finally asked, starting to sound distressed.

Steve rushed to the door, jumping into his truck and rushing down the road. "Hang on, Danno, I'm on my way, ok? It'll be alright, buddy, I'm on my way…"

* * *

Danny had tried to push the driver seat as back as it could go and was currently doubled over, holding his head between his knees and trying to stop himself from shaking apart. In a moment of desperation he had taken his phone and called his partner, and the thought that Steve was on his way was the only thing keeping Danny from totally breaking.

It had been too much, from the terrorist threat, to barely getting there in time to stop the car bomb from exploding, to telling the story about his old partner from Jersey, about seeing her die right in front of his eyes and how the tragedy that was September 11th gave him the chance to escape certain death.

Having to stand still while a guy in a space suit was trying to stop a bunch of C4, nails and some other painful looking stuff from exploding in his direction, making him end up like a human jigsaw puzzle. And the cherry on top, what had made him hold himself together until after Grace was safe at home, what had kept him holding on 11 years ago, was his little girl, the promise he had made to her, the Dance, and the sight of his Grace, all dressed up and looking like a princess, and wanting to share it all with her old man. That's what made it all worth it, the knowledge that Grace would still have her Danno around to take care of her.

Of course that ending up stranded by the side of a random road somewhere in this God forsaken island was not part of the plan, but he hadn't managed to get himself home before it hit him, so he was stuck here in his car, alone, shaking like the old washing machine he and Rachel had back in Hoboken and waiting for his partner to get there.

* * *

The sound of the car door opening made him jump in his seat, but then came familiar voices, Steve, Chin and Kono's, and familiar hands were pulling him out and wrapping a blanket around his shoulders.

After some undignified manhandling, Danny found himself in the back seat of the Silverado, with Steve and Chin flanking him and providing much needed warmth. He looked up and was surprised to see that they were moving, and that Kono was the one driving Steve's truck. "Where are we going? And why are you letting her drive your truck?" He asked. Now that he had the shaking finally under control he was having a little bit of trouble keeping his eyes open, but he was comfortable where he was, slumped in between Chin and Steve.

Steve said something about them going to his place, and that Kono was a good driver, but by then Danny had found a comfortable spot and was snoring softly. Who would have thought that Steve's shoulder would be so comfortable, huh?

* * *

The sound of a door opening and closing and Steve and Chin's whispering voices brought him back from his short nap. "It's alright, Chin, just help me get him out and I can carry him inside…"

Before they could put their plan in motion, Danny sat up and looked around with a yawn. They were outside Steve's place and both Steve and Chin seemed to be discussing the best way to get Danny inside the house. "Please don't tell me that you were planning to carry me inside like a blushing bride." Danny said, glaring at Steve and crossing his arms across his chest.

Chin shook his head with a smile and moved in the direction of the house, leaving Danny with his crazy partner. "Blushing bride? Nah, I was thinking more of a fireman's carry!" Steve said with a goofy smile, lifting his arm as if he was carrying someone over his shoulder.

Danny rolled his eyes, stifling a yawn and moving to the opposite door to get out of the truck. "Well, I appreciate the effort, but I'm perfectly capable of walking into your house all by myself…" Ha said, before getting out of the truck and moving towards the door with the blanket still wrapped around his shoulders.

Steve closed the truck quickly and moved to Danny's side, trying to make it look like he was not worried that his friend wouldn't make the short trip from the truck to his door on his own steam.

Fortunately Danny made the trip without any incidents, but before Steve could suggest that he went to lie down on the spare bedroom, Danny moved to the kitchen, coming back with a six pack on his hands and shuffling towards the lanai.

Steve shared a confused look with Chin and Kono, and moved to intercept Danny. Before the blonde man could reach his destination, Steve put a foot over the blanket that was still being dragged behind him, effectively stopping his movement. "Where do you think you're going, Danno?"

Danny looked up at him with a confused expression on his face, more accurately, a half asleep, but confused, expression on his face. "I thought we were having a beer?" He asked, lifting his eyebrows.

Steve chuckled, he took the beers from Danny's hands, passing them to Chin and putting his hands on the shorter man's shoulders, he steered him towards the couch. "Well, we can have them here on the couch, maybe there's a game or something?"

Danny looked resigned when he moved closer to the couch. With a tired sigh, he sat down on it, right next to Kono. He pulled the blanket closer around his chest and leaned back against the cushions. Steve sat down at Danny's other side, offering him and Kono a beer and Chin sat down at the recliner, taking a beer of his own.

* * *

Steve studied his partner, noticing the hands, tightly clasped over his knees, the exhaustion reflected on his face, and the grief, still present in his eyes. "So, Danno… You still haven't finished your story…" He asked, sitting sideways to look at Danny.

Danny turned to look at Steve with a frown on his face. "I haven't finished? There's not much more to tell, babe…" He said with a shrug.

Steve scoffed. "Seriously? You were hurt, alone, in an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere, your partner was down and the world was ending… I want to know how the hell you managed to get out of there!"

Danny looked down, shrugging. "Grace… My partner… She was gone… I think it was pretty quick…" He said with a sniff. "I just… just picked her up and got her into the car. I wanted to get her to a hospital anyway, and the black and whites were not stopping, so I decided to drive her myself…"He said with a shrug.

"I only made it to a roadblock Newark Police had put up… I think one of the guys knew me… I have no idea what I told them, but they took care of Grace and drove me to the hospital. Next time I opened my eyes I was in a gurney in the middle of a crazy hallway, all patched up and my… my Pop was there…" Danny said, lifting a hand to quickly wipe his eyes.

With a deep breath, Danny continued his story. "My Pop, he's… he's a firefighter, and I don't know how, the phones where a mess, but I guess someone reached him on the radio just before… Just before his Unit took off, and he… he dropped everything to go see me…" He said with a hitch on his breath.

Kono had lifted her arm to wrap it over Danny's shoulders, but nobody dared to stop their friend's story. "He… He stayed with me until we could convince someone to let me go home, and then we went to his place… everyone was there, Matt had picked up Rachel and my sisters and… And Pop still stayed until he was sure I'd be alright… His team was on their way to ground zero and he… he still stayed…"

Danny finally lowered his head to bury it in his hands. "I… I've always wondered if he regretted it… If maybe he wished he'd been with his team instead…" He said, between hitched breaths.

Steve shook his head, leaning forward to squeeze Danny's shoulder. "What? Come on, Danno… Would you ever regret being there for Grace when she needed you?"

Danny lifted his head to focus tear filled eyes on his partner. "No, of course not! But I… It was all so stupid! We should have never gone there alone! It was my fa… And with everything else, her death seemed like such a small thing… Bu-but it wasn't!" He finished, with a sob. "Shit… I'm so sorry… I'm so… so sorry!" He said, before losing the battle with his tears.

Steve and Kono wrapped their arms around Danny and Chin moved from the recliner to sit on the coffee table, right in front of him. Leaning forward he started to run his finger gently through Danny's hair, trying to provide any comfort he could.

* * *

It took him a few minutes, but finally Danny calmed down somewhat. Chin had moved away and had come back with a mug of tea, which he left on the coffee table for Danny. "I hope there's some scotch in that…" Danny said with a small smile, giving the mug a dubious look.

Steve chuckled, patting Danny's back. "Why don't you finish that tea and we'll see about some scotch?"

With a long suffering sigh, Danny picked up the tea, taking a couple of small sips; He used the blanket to wipe the last of his tears.

Steve was studying him, and squeezed his shoulder to get his attention. "Hey Danno… Have you ever talked to anyone about this?"

Danny gave him a forced smile and looked away too quickly. "Didn't you know that a psych evaluation is mandatory after an injury before a detective can go back to active duty?"

Chin chuckled. "Well, somehow I have the feeling that shrinks were a bit preoccupied at the time…" He said, which got a non committal shrug from the Jersey detective.

"What about your dad? Your family?" Steve asked, regaining Danny's attention.

Danny chuckled drily. "How could I ask my dad if he wished he didn't have to stay with me that day? Or whether he thinks that my partner's death was my fault? Should I ask him if I was worth the sacrifice as well?"

His rant was interrupted by Kono's voice. "Well, in spite of the tragedy of that day, I'm glad that things turned out as they did. I'm glad you got to meet your Grace and that you followed her to Hawaii and became part of our Ohana."

He looked up to see both Chin and Steve nodding in agreement. "Well, Brah… Are you stupid enough to contradict her?" Chin said, nodding in Kono's direction.

Danny looked at Kono's smiling face and breathed a tired chuckle. "Hell no! She's scary!" He said, sinking deeper into the cushions at his back.

Steve patted him roughly on the shoulder. "Well, I'm glad that's settled then…" He said, standing up. "Ok, it's been a long day for all, especially for the belle of the ball over there…" Steve said, nodding in Danny's direction. "So what do you guys say we call it a night? Make that a morning…" He finished, looking at his watch with a wince.

Danny was starting to nod off, so he grumbled annoyed at the hands that manhandled him into a prone position on the couch, placed a pillow under his head and tucked a blanket snuggly over his body. He felt pats on the shoulder and a kiss on the forehead, but his brain couldn't come up with anything more articulate than a mumbled "Thanks guys…"

* * *

Steve locked up after Chin and Kono left, and checked on Danny one last time before going upstairs. Today has been close, too close, and he still needed to make sure that his partner was here, alive and kicking, even after everything that had happened. He eyed the recliner for a minute, wondering if his peace of mind was worth the neck pain that would greet him the following day.

Somewhere he had heard a saying: 'A man's worth depends on his two smallest organs: his heart and his tongue.' Well, Danny had a huge heart, and had no trouble speaking his mind when he felt it was needed, so Steve guessed he was more than worth a little pain.

He settled on the recliner with a blanket, closing his eyes and thanking whoever was watching that fate had brought this short, annoying man to their lives.

* * *

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. After Danny's story, I needed to know how he had gotten to safety, or relative safety under the circumstances, so I came up with my own story. I tried to deal with the events of that day in a respectful way, so I hope I won't offend anyone with this story.
> 
> Again thank you so much for reading, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one.
> 
> See you around!


	5. Merry Not-Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! This story wanted to be written in a hurry after today's episode, so be warned for spoilers.

Danny had known from the start that accepting Steve's invitation would be an awful idea. Steve and Cath spent most of the evening giving each other besotted looks, Doris kept making awkward attempts to start conversation and Danny was sure that his awful mood was ruining everyone's evening.

He had made an effort to tone down his snappiness, but as it turned out, his silence seemed to be far worse than the angriest rant for Steve, who kept giving him worried looks and trying to find ways to get him ranting.

He had dutifully eaten every dish that was put in front of him, not making a comment about the disguised taste of pineapple that accompanied the beef, or was it pork? that he had eaten, but he hadn't had the heart to argue about the proper way to cook for the holidays. This didn't feel like a holiday, not without Grace around to spoil and celebrate with.

He finished his dessert as quickly as he could without being rude and excused himself, moving out towards the lanai, walking slowly towards the water nearby.

* * *

He felt more than heard the figure standing next to him on the beach, and looked up to tell his partner to go back inside, that he was alright, he just needed some fresh air. He wasn't expecting to find the wrong McGarrett standing next to him.

Doris looked at the water gently lapping against the shore. She moved to the wooden chairs nearby, using the armrest to place the two tumblers that she had brought with her. She filled them with bottle of bourbon on her hand and motioned for Danny to sit next to her and take a glass.

With a tired sigh Danny moved to the chair, accepting the drink and taking a long sip from it. After being silent for a few minutes, he finally muttered the first thing that came to mind. "I have no idea how you endured it…"

Doris turned a confused look towards Danny. "Endured what?" She asked, already guessing the answer.

Danny shrugged, waving his arm around to encompass the whole situation. "This… How'd you do it? How'd you manage to stay away for so long, missing holidays, birthdays, school performances… How'd you survive knowing that they needed you; that they missed you and you couldn't be with them?" He finally asked in a choked up voice.

Doris sighed sadly, refilling Danny's empty glass before taking a small sip of his own. "You just go through it one day at a time, knowing that what you were doing was for the best…"

Danny scoffed. "For the best? With all due respect Ma'am, there's nothing good in you faking your death and disappearing for twenty years, just like there's nothing good in me being away from my daughter on Christmas! I've heard all about you trying to protect them from the evils of the world, I've felt the same way, but how can you do anything to protect them when you're not there when they need you? Huh?" He asked angrily, jumping to his feet and waving his hand around, sloshing bourbon all around him. After that, he seemed to deflate. "I'm sorry, I know you thought you were doing the right thing, I sure thought I was, I was just trying to have a more civil relationship with Rachel, try to get on her good side, but it seems we were both wrong, because all your children will remember of those years is that you lied, and that you willingly stayed away from them, while all Grace will remember of this Christmas is that her father wasn't there with her…" He finished sadly, lifting his free hand to rub it roughly over his eyes.

Doris stood up from his chair, leaving the bottle behind and standing next to Danny again. "Maybe you're braver than I am, Danny. I couldn't bear the thought of being responsible of any harm that may come to them because of what I did; you can't bear the thought of your daughter being hurt because you were not there to protect her…"

Danny shook his head angrily. "I'm not brave… I'm just a coward, trying to delay the moment when she realizes what a disappointment I am…" He said in a hoarse voice.

Doris chuckled softly. "You're wrong again, Danny. You are a good parent, much better than I could ever hope to be, and your girl will never be disappointed. And about this Christmas, she's not going to remember that you weren't there, she's only going to remember that Christmas came a little later this year, when she got to spend it with her Danno…" And with that, she started to walk back to the house.

Danny pinched the bridge of his nose, moving back to the chair and refilling his glass.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later Danny was slumped on his chair, staring listlessly at the ocean. He'd had another full glass of bourbon, or maybe two? He was not really sure, but things were getting comfortably numb. A soft sound at his side made him turn his head and he was surprised to find Steve sitting in the chair next to him, wearing his best aneurism face.

Danny didn't like to see Steve worried, especially when he was the one causing the worry. "'m sorry babe…" He said, clumsily patting Steve's knee.

Steve lifted his eyebrows. "What are you apologizing about, Danno?"

Danny shrugged, staring sadly into his empty glass. "I ruined everything… Told you it wasn't a good idea…"

Steve chuckled sadly, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder. "You haven't ruined anything, buddy. I just wish that we could make things better…"

Danny just shrugged, not looking convinced.

* * *

They sat there for a while, quietly looking at the ocean, and of course that Steve would not give him more booze, the annoying goof. When Danny's eyes started to close on their own, Steve stood up, pulling him along back towards the house. "Come on, Danno… Time for bed."

Danny yawned, making a half hearted protest. "'s ok… Just get me a taxi…" He mumbled.

Steve chuckled, huffing a little at having to pull Danny along while keeping him on his feet. "No Danny, tonight you're staying at Mary's room, ok? The bed is all made up for you…"

Danny protested all the way upstairs, but found himself being dropped into the soft mattress anyway. He groaned when Steve took off his shoes and lifted his feet to lie on the bed. "Hmmmno… Waves… Won't let me sleep…" He mumbled around a yawn.

Steve shook his head. "I have the feeling that you won't have any trouble sleeping tonight, I don't envy the morning you'll have tomorrow though."

Danny yawned again, shifting around to find a more comfortable position on the bed. He looked up at Steve with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Steve? I know that we don't trust your mom, and that she's been telling lies since she got back here, but d'you think we can believe in some of the things she says?" He asked in an uncertain voice.

Steve frowned, wondering where this was going. "I don't know Danno… What did she say?"

Danny shrugged, looking uncertain. "She said that Grace won't think I ruined everything by not being with her this Christmas, that she'll only remember that Christmas came a little later this year, when she got to spend it with me…" He said with a sad sniff.

Steve squeezed his shoulder, giving him a sad smile. "Yeah Danno… I'm positive she's telling the truth on that one."

Danny breathed a relieved sigh, finally finding a comfortable position on his pillow and closing his eyes. "Tha's good… Thank you babe… Merry Not-Christmas…"

He heard a chuckle and felt light blankets being tucked round him before sleep finally claimed him. "You are welcome, merry Not-Christmas, Danno…"

* * *

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading! I don't know where this came from, since I don't really like Doris, but I felt she could relate to Danny in some way, so this came out.
> 
> I'd really love to hear what you think of this one.
> 
> And Happy holidays, in case I don't see you sooner!


	6. A Friend's Concern

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this one has spoilers for Ep 3X15, so be warned.

Once they had taken care of the crime scene and Max had come over to pick up Stoner's body, Steve finally decided to brave the rage of Danno, coming closer to the blonde man and dangling the keys on his fingers as a peace offering.

Danny raised his eyebrows incredulously. "Seriously? You're going to let me drive my own car for once?"

Steve gave him a goofy smile, passing him the keys. "Of course! I figured it would improve your mood a little, since you've been so sensitive today…" He said with a smirk.

It was obviously the wrong thing to say, because Danny's expression darkened even more. "Well, excuse me if I don't feel like going to another friend's funeral this time of year" He said in a low growl, and taking the keys from Steve he took off, with a muttered "I have stuff to do, see you tomorrow", leaving Steve staring at the retreating Camaro.

Chin approached with a curious look on his face. "You need a ride?" He asked.

Steve nodded, with a concerned frown on his face. "Yeah, thanks Chin."

* * *

A couple of hours later, Steve found himself knocking on Danny's door. He was bearing a six pack of beer and a couple of meatball sandwiches from Danny's favorite place as a peace offering.

Danny opened his door, not looking terribly surprised by his partner's visit. He was wearing a pair of worn cut offs and an old NJPD T-shirt. He took a look at Steve's offerings and without a word turned to go back inside, leaving the door open so Steve could enter.

The slightly unsteady steps of his friend told Steve that Danny had already been drinking before he got there; the 4 empty bottles on the coffee table confirmed his hunch.

Danny dug into the takeout bag without asking for permission, and taking a bottle from the six pack Steve had brought, dug in. Steve was a bit unsettled by his partner's silence, but a questioning look from the blonde man and a nod towards the other sandwich had him following his friend's lead.

They finished their sandwiches in silence, and when it seemed to have stretched long enough, Steve started talking. "I'm sorry Danno…"

Danny turned to look at his partner. "Would you mind telling me what are you sorry about?" He asked.

Steve really had to think about his answer. "I'm sorry that I made light of your concerns…" Danny was getting ready to interrupt, but Steve lifted his hand, forestalling his rant. "…And… I'm also sorry that I worried you and didn't listen to you when you asked me to wait for backup or not to put myself in the line of fire. I'm sorry for asking you to stay behind too, and last but not least, I'm sorry that I didn't realize that this would be a shitty week for you…" He finished in a rush.

Danny sat quietly in thought for a couple of minutes. With a deep breath he turned to Steve. "Apology noted…" He said softly with a small nod of his head.

Steve frowned, but kept his mouth shut. He didn't really think that Danny was done talking.

He was proved right a minute later, when Danny continued in a stronger voice. "I just don't understand how come that when I was stuck waiting for a bomb to go off and turn me into little pieces, you could not be persuaded to do the sensible thing and go away to take cover some place where the little body parts that were about to fly around wouldn't stain your white jeans, but you expect me to just sit around and do nothing when a psycho is gunning for your head…"

Steve shook his head remorsefully. "I'm sorry Danno… I shouldn't have asked that of you…"

Danny shook his head, breathing a tired chuckle. "Alright…" He said softly.

Steve lifted his eyebrows. "Is that acceptance I'm hearing?" He asked with a smirk.

"I guess it is…" Danny said with a roll of his eyes, passing another beer bottle to his friend.

Steve paused before taking the offered bottle. "This doesn't mean that you expect me to start following proper police procedure from now on, right?" He asked with a concerned look on his face.

That drew a welcome laugh from Danny. "I wouldn't ever think about it, babe…"

* * *

They sat quietly for a while, but Steve could see something weighting on his friend's shoulders. "Have you talked to Grace lately?" He asked, following a hunch.

Danny nodded. "Yup, she's about to start some dancing lessons, and she's really excited about them…" He said with a smile.

Steve smiled as well. "Has she had any nightmares lately?" He asked with a concerned look.

Danny shook his head, giving him a knowing glance. "No, thankfully she's not having any trouble with that… She moved on from that nightmare beautifully…" He said with a small smile.

Steve nodded, looking relieved. "That's good… What about her dad?" He asked, leaning forward to see his friend's face.

Danny shrugged, not really looking at Steve. "I dunno… Not as well as her, I guess… It's just been a bad week, you know…"

Steve patted his back gently. "Yeah, I know… Sorry again for being an ass, Danno…" He said, extending his bottle to knock it against Danny's.

"Don't worry about it, it was a crappy week for you too, babe… I'm just glad that you're still around to annoy me…" Danny said with a small smile.

Steve nodded, laying back to sit himself more comfortably on the couch. "Yeah… likewise, Danno…"

* * *

They spent the rest of the night watching a game on TV, drinking some beers and just enjoying each other's company, that was the best cure for any nightmare that may want to sneak up on them.

* * *

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> I really was surprissed at how angry Danny looked about the whole 'reckless Steve' thing, and then I remembered that 2X15 was the Eppy where Grace was kidnapped and Danny's friend was killed, so this came out. I hope you liked it.
> 
> I'd really love to hear what you thought of it!


	7. Even Vests are nor always Bulletproof

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... I wanted to write more of Frying pans, but this bunny bit me and wouldn't let me go... This is an AU of 3x14, so there could be some spoilers for that epi.
> 
> I warn you that this is shameless, plotless Danny Whump... Enjoy!

Danny's day was not going according to plan, he thought, as Congressman Freed was propelled into the chopper by one of Wo Fat's bullets.

* * *

For starters, this morning at the custody hearing, he was supposed to have the chance to talk to Rachel. In fact his well prepared speech was meant for her. It was supposed to convince her not to take Grace away to Vegas, that Hawaii was Grace's home now and that uprooting her again would do her more harm than good.

Steve was supposed to be there as well. It's true that his own delivery of the speech was less than stellar, but Steve was supposed to be his all star character witness, and didn't manage to say more than two words before the Governor was calling him up for a case.

Now about the case, the fact that at first it was not actually a case should have tipped them off that things would not be easy. The sniper shooting their only witness and the kidnapped Congressman only served to confirm how messed up things were. And of course that the party wouldn't be complete without some Wo Fat thrown in for good measure.

A few weeks ago Danny had told Steve that he didn't particularly like the idea of getting in a chopper that Steve was flying, and yet he had gotten into a flying deathtrap with his partner more times in the last month than in the previous two years.

So that's how Danny found himself hanging by a harness from a chopper piloted by his crazy partner and with a Mk 12 Rifle on his hands.

* * *

Congressman Freed was already injured, so getting him into the chopper was a feat by itself. He had barely climbed into the chopper when another bullet pushed him against Danny and further into the chopper. Danny spared a minute to tell Steve to get them to the hospital, and that it was bad, before he started applying pressure to both wounds. Fortunately Steve listened to him for once and turned the chopper around and in the direction of the hospital.

After that things got a bit confusing for Danny. He did his best to stop the bleeding, but there was too much blood coming from the wounds on Freed's shoulder and chest. He kept talking to the Congressman, trying to keep him talking until they reached the hospital, but by the time Steve was landing the chopper, he was already out.

A group of people in scrubs was waiting, and when the chopper landed they rushed to get Freed out. Danny helped as much as he could and they got the Congressman into the gurney and on the way inside in what felt like a blink of an eye to him.

Steve was already out of the chopper and following the gurney, so Danny figured that's what he had to do as well. He moved to get out, but for some reason he couldn't stand. He looked down at himself and saw the harness still attached, so that at least explained it. Well, maybe he could wait for Steve here for a while, he thought, sitting on the floor of the chopper with his legs hanging out.

* * *

Steve had moved behind the gurney, looking around for any remaining threats, but it looked like they were good for now. He looked around to confirm it with Danny, only Danny was not at his side. When he saw Danny still sitting on the chopper with a lost expression on his face he feared that they were not as good as he initially thought. He turned to catch the attention of one of the nurses and then moved towards Danny. "Hey Danno, you ok?" He asked, looking at Danny's bloodstained hands.

Danny lifted confused eyes to look at his partner. "Huh?..." He said, lifting his eyebrows. "I… I still have this thing on…" He finished, looking at the harness still attached to his waist.

Steve nodded, moving to help Danny with the harness, trying to ignore the blood on Danny's hands. He was very concerned by his friend's confusion. The way he was acting, and the pallor of his skin spoke of early stages of shock, a reasonable assumption under the circumstances, but Steve had seen Danny right after Grace had been kidnapped, he'd seen him after a bomb almost exploded in front of him and he hadn't looked as bad as he did right now in any of those occasions. "Danno, were you hit?" He asked softly, trying to find an explanation for his partner's behavior.

Danny shook his head, not getting Steve's question. "Hit? No… Freed got hit…" He said with a frown. "I… I'm wearing a vest, aren't I?" He asked as an afterthought.

Steve frowned, lifting his hands to start to remove the Velcro straps holding the vest around Danny's chest. "Well, let's just get this off, just in case, ok Danno?" He asked in a calm voice. His fears were confirmed when he noticed a dark stain on the left side of Danny's chest, he looked at his back as well, finding an exit wound on Danny's side. "Damn Danno, you were hit!" He muttered while trying to get Danny to lie down. The nurse Steve had talked to before was coming closer with a wheelchair, but at the sight of Danny he rushed back inside in search for another gurney.

Danny tilted to the side, letting Steve take most of his weight. "No… Told you I was wearing a vest…" He mumbled.

Steve huffed in annoyance. "I'm afraid these were armor piercing rounds, buddy…" He muttered while applying pressure to the wounds.

Damn that hurt. "Oh… That explains it…" Danny mumbled before everything turned very dark and quiet all of a sudden.

* * *

The next time he was aware of his surroundings, Danny was lying in an uncomfortable mattress with a soft pillow under his head. He was warm, sleepy and comfortably numb. And for some reason he was glad to feel comfortably numb. He was starting to go back to sleep when some other noises and feelings filtered into his consciousness.

There was a soft beeping noise, there were things attached to his chest, pulling at the small hairs there, there was a bandage around his chest too, an itchy tube under his nose, something taped to his left hand and fingers wrapped around his right one.

There were soft voices talking to him, encouraging him to awake, but he was tired and sleepy, it had been a long day and he wanted to go back to sleep.

The voices got a little louder, and they started to squeeze his hand and shake him gently to get him awake. "Come on Danno, open your eyes. You've kept us waiting long enough!" Steve's annoying voice said.

Danny groaned in annoyance, which turned to discomfort when he felt a small stab of pain on his side. "Go 'way… 'm sleepin…" He mumbled, hoping to get them to back off.

He could hear Steve's chuckle and felt as he squeezed his hand again. "Come on Danno, why don't you open your eyes so the Doc can check you over? You can go back to sleep after that…"

He opened his eyes to a dimly lit room. Steve was looking at him with a tired smile and there was a pretty lady in scrubs giving him an assessing look. He turned to look at Steve again and was surprised to see him wearing scrubs as well. "You´re not a doctor… Please tell me that you didn't come anywhere near me with a scalpel or a needle or anything like that…" He said in a concerned mumble.

Steve chuckled in surprise, looking down at his clothes. "Don't worry Danno. My clothes got a bit dirty and a nice nurse let me use these for now…"

Danny nodded, turning his attention to the Doctor. "So… how bad was it?" He asked.

The doctor gave him a kind smile. "Danny, I'm Doctor Rocha, I was in charge of all the scalpels and needles that came near you in the OR… You had a gunshot wound on your upper left chest, and an exit wound a little higher on your back. You were very lucky, because the bullet went through your chest cavity without impacting directly any vital organs. Your lung was slightly lacerated, but it didn't cause any complications and should heal by itself. The bullet was high caliber though, so you lost a considerable amount of blood and it managed to break a couple of ribs, which should cause you some discomfort in the following days."

Danny blinked a couple of times. He only caught about half of what the doctor had said, but he figured Steve would tell him if he missed anything important. There was only one thing he needed to know. "When can I get out of here?"

The doctor chuckled, not looking surprised. "Well, we want to keep you in observation for at least 48 hours, to make sure that we didn't miss any slow bleeds and to monitor your lung function."

The doctor then proceeded to check his bandages and his vitals and left the room, promising to be back in the morning.

Once the doctor was gone, Danny turned to Steve. "Did you call Rachel? Does Grace know?"

Steve nodded, squeezing Danny's hand reassuringly. "Yes, I did, and yes, she does. She's coming over tomorrow, and they both know that you are doing fine.

Danny was relieved, but didn't understand why Steve looked like his birthday had come early. "What about the Congressman?" He asked, figuring that maybe that was it.

"He's recovering without any complications; he should be fine by the time of the elections…" He said, barely managing to keep a hold of a goofy smile.

Danny frowned at his partner, not having the patience to decipher the face he was wearing right now. "Ok… So why don't you just cut it out and tell me what the hell has you looking so happy when I'm here lying on my deathbed?"

Steve's smile got even bigger. "Well, while they were patching you up, they gave me your things, your badge, your wallet and your phone, and someone called… It was you lawyer…" He said, grinning like a loon.

Danny knew instinctively that Steve's smile meant that it was good news, but he couldn't help the anxiety and the fear that Steve's news brought. He hadn't noticed his harsh breathing or how much his heart was racing until Steve squeezed his hand roughly and caught his attention. "Damn it Danny… Calm down or I'm not telling you anything!" He said in a harsh whisper.

Danny did his best to calm his breathing, and after a couple of minutes Steve looked convinced enough to keep talking. "Alright, the lawyer said that the Judge had come to a decision, and that he was giving you and Rachel joint custody of Grace!" He said with a big smile on his face.

Danny frowned confusedly, not following much of the conversation. "What? What's that mean?"

Steve leaned forward, trying to catch Danny's exhausted eyes, trying to make him understand. "It means that you two have equal rights regarding where Grace lives. It means that she can't take her to Vegas without your consent. It means that she can't leave if you don't want her to…" He said in a gentle voice.

Danny's eye lit up. "She can't leave?" He said in an incredulous voice.

Steve's smile got even bigger, if possible. "No, she can't…"

Danny laughed one of his nervous giggles, lifting his hand to cover his injured side. "Damn babe, if I could lift my head from this damn pillow I'd give you the greatest hug in history!" He said with a happy, if half asleep, smile on his face.

"Well, lucky for you, I'm perfectly capable of giving you a hug, Danno…" Steve said, leaning forward to give his friend a gentle hug. When he straightened up again, he saw that Danny was barely able to keep his eyes open. "Alright, Danny, time to sleep."

Danny blinked tiredly, trying to fight the effects of the lovely drugs that were making him so sleepy. "Yeah, ok… but first I need you to promise me something…" He said, giving Steve a serious look. At his nod he continued. "I need you to promise to tell me all of this again when I next wake up… Because… 'cause I'm not sure I'm going to remember it…" He finished, stifling a yawn.

Steve chuckled, patting Danny's shoulder. "Don't worry Danno, I don't mind telling you these news as many times as you need…"

Danny smiled, finally closing his eyes. He lifted his hand to pat Steve's but only made it halfway through. "Thanks babe…" He said with a small smile on his face, realizing that things were not that bad after all.

* * *

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I kept waiting for Wo Fat to aim to either Steve or Danny, so this came out... Now that I think about it, someone should write a story where Steve's the one getting hurt, and the chopper goes down, and all the whump that involves... *evil laugh*
> 
> Anyways, I'd really love to hear what you think of this one!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	8. Role Reversal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is inspired on Episode 3x22, so it probably has some spoilers.

It was unusual for Steve, Kono and Chin to handle the paperwork and booking of their suspects, but after this particular case, they had all agreed to allow Danny some space.

After they made sure that Ella was safe and sound and back in her parents' arms, what was left of their team headed to HQ to make sure that all the t's were crossed and all the i's were dotted. They would make sure that the Becketts paid for their crimes and would look through Helen Cantera's records, to confirm that no other children had been taken for the same reasons.

Steve was planning on pulling an all nighter, wanting to take a good look at Cantera's financial records, but his plans were interrupted around 9 PM by a phone call. He a looked bit confused at the unfamiliar number, but decided he could use a distraction so he took the call. "McGarret."

The voice at the other side of the line sounded familiar. "Steve? This is Tim Gilbert…"

Steve raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Tim… hello! What can I do for you?"

"Well, it's not exactly something you can do for me…" Tim said, sounding concerned. "I was on the way to the Morris' home, to offer what support I could, but a when I was getting there I saw Danny driving away like a bat out of hell. I thought something might have happened, so I followed him…"

Steve frowned, standing up from his desk and gathering his keys and wallet. "Yeah, he said he found something that Amanda's parents would like to have… Do you still have eyes on him?" He asked while moving towards the door.

Tim breathed a worried sigh. "Well, I guess you could say that. I followed him to a liquor store, and unless he owns some kind of Irish pub, I'm afraid he's getting far too much booze…" He paused, not sure if he was sticking his nose where it didn't belong. "He doesn't look good, Steve…"

Steve had moved to the smart table, pulling up the GPS tracking program. He located Danny's phone and the Camaro's location, and was somewhat relieved that he was a couple of blocks away from his apartment. "This case hit him hard, Tim. His daughter was taken last year…"

He could hear Tim sighing sadly on the other side of the line. "Did he get her back?" He asked, dreading the answer.

Steve smiled sadly. "Yes, he got her back and she's perfectly fine now…"

"I'm happy to hear it…" Tim said with a relieved sigh. "Do you want me to stick around? Keep an eye on where he's going?" He asked Steve.

Steve smiled, waving goodbye to Chin and Kono. "Don't worry about it Tim. I think I know where Danny's going. Thank you for the heads up!"

"I'm happy to help!" Tim said, before cutting the call.

* * *

Steve drove as fast as he could without actually using the police lights and was surprised to reach Danny's place before the Camaro got there. He checked his phone and saw that Danny was on his way, but apparently he had taken some time at the liquor store.

When Danny parked the car and spotted Steve, he got out with a frown on his face. "Is something wrong? Did you hear back from Ella?" He asked Steve.

Steve shook his head. "No, everything is fine. Duke called to say that they had released Ella and she had gone home with a clean bill of health…" He said with a smile.

The frown didn't leave Danny's face. "Clean bill of health? That is if you don't count all the therapy that she's going to need…" He said sadly. "So if nothing's happened, then what are you doing here?" He asked Steve, while locking the car and moving towards his door.

Steve didn't follow, moving instead towards the Camaro. "Aren't you going to bring your shopping inside?" He asked, while using his own key to open the car. He was surprised to find three six packs of beer and two bottles of bourbon.

Danny's shoulders slumped, but he didn't back down. "Well, I thought you'd make yourself useful for once…" He said, turning to open his door and moving inside.

Steve picked up the bags and entered Danny's place. He found the shorter man slumped on the couch, staring at a picture of Grace. He moved to sit next to Danny, leaving a beer for him over the coffee table and taking one for himself. "Did you stop by to tell her goodnight?" He asked, nodding at the picture.

Danny shook his head. "Nope… I already worried her enough by showing up at her cheerleading practice and hanging onto her like an octopus…" He said, leaving the photo on the table and reaching for the beer bottle. "I went to see Amanda's parents… She wrote a journal while she was in there, and I thought that they would want to read it…" He finished, focusing his attention on the bottle in his hands.

"I'm sure it helped…" Steve said, looking at his partner.

Danny still hadn't taken a drink from his beer. "I just don't know how they do it…" He said in a hoarse voice.

Steve turned in his seat to face Danny. "Who?" He asked, trying to get his friend talking.

Danny shrugged, still looking down at his bottle. "Amanda's parents, Maile's parents… all of them… I don't know how they get up in the morning, I don't know how they are still breathing after… after losing their little girls…" He said, finally leaving the untouched bottle on the table and lifting his trembling hands to pass them through his hair.

Steve placed a comforting hand on Danny's shoulder and squeezed gently. "Well, Amanda's parents will have to find strength to go on, but the love that her little girl had for them will help them a lot. Maile's parents have found that strength in helping other families that are going through the same thing they've gone through, they are helping others so they don't have to grieve as they did… In fact, Tim's the one who called me to tell me that you were buying half of the booze in Oahu…"

Steve's affirmation finally got Danny to lift his bloodshot eyes to look at his partner. "He did? How?" He asked Steve.

"He saw you driving away from the Morris' home and decided to see if everything was alright… He was wondering why you were so affected… and I told him about Gracie… He was very happy to know that she's doing alright now…" Steve said with a smile.

Danny shook his head looking down at his knees. "You know, all I could think about after leaving the Morris' place was that nothing helps… I shot Rick and I beat the crap out of Ray Beckett, but none of those things helped! That son of a bitch took her and there was nothing I could do… And in the end I don't know if I can stop it from happening again…" He finished, lowering his head to rest it on his hands.

Steve lifted his arm and placed it over Danny's shoulders. "Hey Danno… Do you remember the first time we had a beer at my place? You told me that this was Grace's home, so your job was to keep it safe for her…" At Danny's nod, he continued. "Well, it looks like you're forgetting that you have a team now, so now you have Kono, Chin and myself to help you with that… I'm pretty sure that Max, Cath and even Kamekona are willing to help from time to time… Do you really think anyone would risk the Big Man's wrath by threatening Gracie?"

Danny shook his head, breathing a choked laugh. He unconsciously leaned closer to Steve, accepting his friend's comfort.

Steve squeezed Danny's shoulder. "You see? We've got your back, Danno… Your and Gracie's…" He said in a gentle voice.

"Thanks babe…" Danny said, lifting his hand to pat Steve's thigh.

"You're welcome, Danno…" Steve said, taking his bottle to clank it against Danny's.

Danny lifted the bottle but put it back down after knocking it against Steve's. "You'll have to drink for the both of us, babe… I'm not sure if I'd manage to keep it in right now…" He said with a shrug.

Steve understood Danny's reaction, so he didn't comment on it. The sight of Danny's torn and swollen knuckles, on the other hand, had him reaching for Danny's hands and lifting them to get a good look. "Danny, didn't you get the EMTs to look at these?" He asked his partner with a frown on his face.

"Well, it wasn't exactly an injury acquired in the line of duty…" Danny said with a shrug.

Steve stood up and moved to the bathroom, to look for anything that would help to treat Danny's hands. "Of course not, I'm sure you just tripped and fell on your way to the store!" He grumbled.

Danny just looked at Steve with a small smile on his face. "Sure… That's a good story…" He said.

Steve brought the supplies and placed them on the coffee table. Taking Danny's hand, he started cleaning it. "Sure, he says, like it's nothing… Next time you'll be getting shot and saying that's just a flesh wound!" Steve said.

Danny's silence was proof enough that the blond man was still shaken by the case and all the memories it brought back. But for once Steve didn't mind being the one to fill the silence. After all, he had learnt from the best.

* * *

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one just bit me, so it had to be written right away. I'd love to hear what you think of it!


	9. Goodbye Old Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! This is something that popped into my head after watching the first episode of the new season, so expect minor spoilers.
> 
> Enjoy!

After an extremely long day, Danny was finally sitting with a longboard in his hand, looking at the ocean.

He had accepted Cath's invitation, but not before he made sure that Steve, Cath and Chin got a thorough check up at the hospital.

He had pointed out that Cath had spent at least a couple of hours with her drug lord kidnappers, that Steve had barely avoided been killed far too many times in far too few hours, and that Chin had been a few feet away from the fireball that once was called his Camaro, so he piled them all into a borrowed patrol car (since Grover didn't seem in the mood to let them borrow the SWAT van again) and drove them to Queen's.

By the time they were done at the hospital they all agreed that it was better to pick up some beers, or something stronger, by the store and head to Steve's house.

* * *

After a couple of beers, it looked like the day was finally catching up with Chin, who was snoring softly on the leather recliner, and Cath and Steve weren't too far behind, slumped on the couch with their heads almost touching.

Danny however, was restless and couldn't seem to relax, so he grabbed a couple of beers and headed for the chairs near the water.

* * *

He knew that it was only a car, and he hoped that under the circumstances either HPD or the Governor would replace it somehow. He should probably apply for one of the subsidized cars, and start looking into the bus routes he'd have to use in the meantime. He thought forlornly.

Losing the car didn't hurt so much in itself. But what the car represented hurt a little more.

He had bought it on an impulse after a nasty discussion with Rachel, a couple of months after moving to Hawaii. The school year was starting, and Danny had wanted to pay for part of the tuition of Grace's school. Moving to Hawaii had cost him a fortune, so for a couple of months he'd managed with the barely essentials in order to save the rest for Grace. But when he'd come over to tell Rachel about the money, she had declined his offer, saying that Stan had already paid for the whole year and that his money was not needed.

He had ranted and raved at her, fighting for his right to provide for his daughter, but Rachel shot back, telling him to just worry about providing for her on the weekends he got to spend with her, that his money was not wanted or needed at any other time.

Danny stormed off in a rage, cursing Rachel, Stan and the pile of money in which they lie. He cursed their enormous mansion, the clothes they wore and the damn luxurious cars they drove.

Without realizing where he was going, he found himself in Kapiolani Blvd., staring at a silver beauty. He laughed at himself, thinking how ridiculous would Stanley look driving the sports car, and wondering how he himself would look in it.

In the end he bought the car on an impulse, using the money he had saved to make the first payment and paying the rest in as many months as the seller could give him. He could remember the amazed look on Grace's face when she first saw it, and the pinched one on Rachel's. Damn, Grace would miss the car.

Only eight months ago he had finished paying for it. He sighed sadly, it was just as well, he thought. At least he wouldn't have to keep paying for a ball of smoking, twisted metal.

* * *

A tired, pained groan brought his attention back to the chair at his side, where Steve was making his best impression of an octogenarian trying to sit on a beach chair. "What are you doing here?" Asked Danny. "Aren't you supposed to be cuddling on the couch with Cath?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "Well, I was doing exactly that up until a couple of minutes ago, when I opened my eyes to find that my partner was not where I last saw him, so I came looking for him. I convinced Cath to move upstairs, so the couch should be available to crash in it. You could also use the spare room if you want…" He said, studying his partner.

Danny gave him a sad smile. "Thanks babe… Why don't you go first, and I'll follow in a few… ok?" He said, turning to look at the ocean.

Steve made no move to go back to the house. "I'm sorry about the car, Danno…" He said with real remorse.

Danny shrugged. "For once, this was not your fault, my friend… It was just bad luck…"

Steve kept studying his friend. "Are you ok?" He asked, getting a quiet head shake in response. He moved closer, putting a gentle hand on Danny's shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Danny gave a small shrug, not taking his eyes off the ocean. "I don't know… It's just that for a long couple of months that car was the only thing I could call my own in this god forsaken, pineapple infested hellhole… Sometimes it felt like… like the only friend I had…" He said with a sad sigh. He felt Steve squeezing his shoulder before he went on. "But then you had to burst your way into my life and drag me to this merry band of crazy people that turned into a family, so things got way better, but it still sucks that the car is gone…" He finished with a sad shrug.

Steve patted him in the back, standing up slowly and gently leading Danny back to the house. "Come on Danno, you had a long day too. Tomorrow we'll see what we can do to fix it, ok?"

Danny nodded quietly, following Steve back to the house. He was still sad about the car, but he was glad to have so much more to call his own, family and friends that would look after him when he needed it.

* * *

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I liked the season premiere. It was fun and exciting. I'm a bit worried about the lack of Danno related storylines, but I hope they'll give us enough Danno in the upcoming episodes.
> 
> This story came about because of Danny's reaction to the destruction of his car. I understand that it was not the time or place to have a huge reaction regarding the car being destroyed, what with the baddies getting away and the crazy day they'd all had, but I had the feeling that Danny would need a moment to mourn for his beautiful silver Camaro, so I gave him one.
> 
> I'd love to hear your thoughts on this story!
> 
> Thank you very much for reading!


	10. Monkey Hugs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this story has some spoilers for episode 4X03.

Even after wrapping the case and arresting the sons of bitches that murdered two people over some damn rings, Danny was still restless. He couldn't get the image of that beautiful little baby girl all alone in a ransacked room, out of his head, so he did what always helped him to get his head straightened out. He called Rachel and begged her to let him pick up Grace from school and drive her home.

Listening to Grace talk about her day, about cheerleading practice and the next softball game in the championship was a balm to his soul. Even hearing her talk about Tommy and how her friends liked this or that guy made him smile in spite of himself. Of course the many hugs that he received did a lot to unburden Danny from his worries.

Since Rachel was not at home, Danny found himself walking Grace up to her room and sitting on her bed, watching as she got her books out of her backpack and starting to get ready to do her homework. She was growing so fast and soon she wouldn't need him so much.

Danny shook himself, deciding that Grace would always be his little girl, no matter how old she was. He turned his mind away from those gloomy thoughts, but couldn't help to go back to that little baby girl crying in her crib.

Something must have shown on his face, because he suddenly had a lapful of Grace, clinging to him like the monkey he always knew she was. "What's wrong Danno?" She asked him with a concerned look on her face.

Danny held her tight for a second and then looked at her face. "Nothing Monkey, I was just thinking, that's all…" He said with a sad smile on his face.

Grace frowned, not looking convinced. "Did a little kid get hurt at work again?" She asked, concerned.

Danny pulled his baby girl closer, hating that she had to know about little boys and girls getting badly hurt. "No Monkey, but a little girl's parents were hurt, so I had to look after her for a little while this morning."

Grace looked concerned. "How old is she?" She asked.

"I'd say she's about a year old…" Danny said with a sympathetic wince.

"She's so little!" Grace said, looking sad.

Danny couldn't help to agree with that, but before he could say anything, Grace moved from his lap to stand by the shelf at the side of her bed. She seemed thoughtful for a little while and then moved to pick up her old plush monkey; the one Danny had gotten for her when she was barely a year old.

Grace turned around with the monkey in her hands and passed it to her father. "Danno, do you think you could give him to the little girl?"

Danny was surprised by the offer. "Are you sure about that? I've heard that you still like to cuddle with him for a nap sometimes…" He asked, looking at Grace in the eyes.

Grace nodded with a smile on her face. "Yes Danno! He's big and fluffy and keeps you safe when you feel scared at night, but I have you for that!" She said with a cheeky smile. "And besides, she needs him more than I do…" She finished with a shrug.

Danny pulled his daughter into another hug. "Come here, that's extremely kind of you. I'll make sure that she gets it." He said, pulling back to look at his girl again. "I love you monkey…"

Grace smiled at her Dad. "I love you more, Danno."

That's how Danny found himself driving to Alani's place to deliver the plush monkey to another lovely Monkey.

* * *

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I totally loved this episode, from Danny and the baby to him being Scully and saying hello to the hobbits, my geeky heart was full of joy.
> 
> The only thing that was missing was that in my opinion, a girl doesn't outgrow her toys until she tells you that she outgrew her toys, so this came about. I'd love to hear what you think of it!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	11. Weight Lifting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Long time, no see!
> 
> I loved everything about Danny and his mother, so this one has plenty of spoilers from 4x15!
> 
> Enjoy!

After Grace fell asleep, Danny needed to move. He was feeling trapped inside his own house, and he needed to get out.

He knew the backyard wouldn't be enough, but he couldn't bring himself to go out somewhere and leave Grace and his mom alone, so moving quietly, he got out of his front door and sat down on the stoop, his knees close to his chest and his head on his hands.

He was surprised a few minutes later when he heard a familiar voice coming from down the street. "Danny?"

He looked up and saw Steve getting out of his truck with a six pack of beer on his hands. "Hey, what are you doing here?" He asked.

Steve shrugged, moving closer and studying his friend. "I thought you could use some company, it's a long flight from Jersey and with the different time zones I figured your mom would go to bed early…"

Danny nodded, motioning for Steve to sit on the steps at his side. "Yeah… She crashed on the couch…" He says, offering as an explanation of his current sitting place.

Steve nodded as well, taking two beers from the pack and handing one to Danny. "So… How're you doing?"

Danny took the beer, twisting the cap off and taking a long drink. He was silent for a minute, trying to gather his thoughts and then shook his head with a helpless shrug. "I'm a lousy father and a shitty son I guess…"

Steve shook his head with a chuckle. "Really? Well, I wish you'd warned me that you were having a pity party! I would have brought some chips and dip!"

Danny elbowed him on the ribs. "Hahaha… you're so funny…" He muttered drily.

Steve shrugged, still chuckling slightly. "What? Do you really want me to repeat what I said on the hearing for Gracie's custody? You're a great father, buddy… And I have trouble believing you could be a bad son…" He said, turning serious.

Danny drew a tired sigh, taking another sip from his beer. "I was remembering the time when we had to tell Grace that Rachel and I were getting a divorce. I tried so hard to make it easy for her, we were breaking her heart, and I didn't want to make things worse, so I put up a brave front, got through with it as best as I could and waited until I was alone to break down… Well, as it turns out, apparently I didn't wait long enough, because Grace just told me that she understands how hard it was for me… Because she could hear me crying in my room afterwards…" He said in a chocked up voice.

Steve put his hand on Danny's shoulder, squeezing gently. "Hey… Have you seen your girl? I mean, have you really looked at her? She's happy! She's so happy that she manages to lift everyone's mood as soon as she comes into the room, and that's part on you, Danno… You've done good, better than most, so you shouldn't beat yourself up for having a moment of weakness, she loves you and I bet you she understood…" He said, leaning forward to look at his friend closer.

"And about your mom, I'm sure she knows it's gonna take you some time to come to terms with it… But I don't think it's just the fact that she's leaving your father that got you mad, so why don't you spill it?" He asked his friend. He'd noticed some movement from a window just out of Danny's sight, but he'd kept talking, knowing that Danny's mom needed to know what really bothered Danny about all of this.

Danny looked down, around and anywhere but to Steve, but eventually gave up with a groan. "I hate you, you know that?" At Steve's chuckle and nod, he continued. "You're right, it's not just that mom is leaving dad. We talked about it, and even if it hurts, I guess I could understand her reasons. What I don't get, and what I hate it's why I'm the first one to know about it! Why can't I tell my sisters about it? Huh? They deserve to know… and, maybe I could use talking to them about it, you know? And, then there's Matt… He's off somewhere, doing stupid stuff, and he has no idea what's going on…" He says, shaking his head.

Steve stopped his friend before he could keep talking. "Danny, you've got to stop blaming yourself for it… He made his own choices!"

But Danny hated to be interrupted, and as usual, he made it known, loudly. "Hey! How many times do I have to tell you that if my lips are still moving, it means I'm still talking?! Ok, I didn't force Matthew to get on that plane, I didn't put a gun to his head so he would steal money from his clients or so he started laundering money for drug dealers, but I should have done more to stop him and I should be doing more to find him, so yeah, I feel responsible for him not being here!" He muttered, trying not to yell, since he didn't want to wake Grace or his mom.

Steve shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Danny, you've looked into every single lead related to Matt's whereabouts, you've worked hours and hours to find him, so don't talk about not doing enough!"

Danny was shaking his head as well, standing up to pace up and down his driveway. "It wasn't enough, because Matt's not here! He was there for six whole months, he was there when I needed him, and he should be here too… For mom… and maybe for me as well…" He said, suddenly deflating.

Before Steve could get up and try to beat some sense into Danny's head, the door opened to show Clara, frowning at his son. "Oh, Daniel… Come here…" She said, opening her arms to demand a hug from her son.

Danny lowered his eyes, but moved obediently close to her mother, stepping into her embrace with a choked "I'm sorry mom…"

Steve moved away and towards his car quietly, not wanting to interrupt them, but before he could get into his car, he heard Danny's voice. "Hey, Steve… Thanks…" He said with a watery smile.

Clara smiled at him, waving goodbye. "He's a bit prickly sometimes, but from where I'm standing, you've done great as a brother…" She said, which was followed by unintelligible mutterings from Danny.

Steve chuckled to himself, getting into the truck and driving away. It looked like today he'd had everyone getting things off their chests with him, and there would come a time when he'd need to do the same thing himself, but for now he knew Danny had needed him, and weight lifting was not the worst thing he'd had to do as a SEAL, so he'd been happy to do it for Danny whenever he needed.

* * *

**The end**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> I loved Danny's mom and I really felt bad for Danny's situation, so after a pretty quiet season, I'm back with another coda.
> 
> I'd really love to hear what you think of it!


	12. Taking care of the Ohana

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> This one is kind of an AU to what happened after the maze takedown in 4X18, and here is my version. Some spoilers for the episode!
> 
> Enjoy!

Once they'd caught Bradley Richmond, Steve turned to Danny to tell him to 'book him', but the words died on his mouth at the sight of his partner.

Danny's right side was covered in mud, and the sight would have been very amusing if it wasn't for the awkward way in which he was holding his gun, the hunched posture and the pain on his face.

Steve frowned, moving closer to Danny. "Hey, what happened?" He asked, looking concerned.

Danny shrugged with one shoulder, wincing a bit. "Nothing, he just snuck up on me…" Danny grumbled, putting away his gun and pulling his sore left hand closer to his chest.

Steve frowned more, reaching to look at Danny's hand. His knuckles were scrapped and dirty, but Steve could see that at least the trigger finger and the thumb were starting to swell. On closer inspection, he could see that Danny's shirt was a bit torn on the back as well, and along with the mud there was a little bit of red peeking out. "Yeah, this doesn't look like nothing, Danno…"

Danny pulled away. "I'm fine… Can we just go?" He said with a roll of his eyes.

Steve studied him for a moment and nodded, knowing that arguing about it right now would get them nowhere. "Yeah, ok. Let's go." He said, moving towards the car.

* * *

Once they reached the hospital to arrest Alan Kim, Steve moved to take Bradley Richmond's arm and motioned for Chin to stay with Danny. "Ok, we'll deal with the arrest. You, take advantage of the fact we are in a hospital and get checked out, please? Chin can wait with you…" He told Danny.

Danny was about to say that he was fine, he didn't need to get checked out, but the truth was that his hand was really starting to hurt, and every time he turned, his back was giving him hell. Besides, Chin was already pulling him towards the ER, so with a groan, he followed, lifting his good hand to make a rude gesture to Steve's retreating back.

15 minutes later, Chin and Danny were waiting for Danny to be called inside. Chin had been nice enough to fill the paperwork and now they were stuck waiting.

"You know. I'm fine here. You can go upstairs and book Kim if you want…" Danny says, not wanting Chin to think that he's in any way obligated to stick around.

Chin just smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine just knowing that we caught the murderer."

Danny shrugged, looking for a topic of conversation. "So… how was the reunion? Before the whole murder, that is…"

Chin's expression fell. "It was alright. It's strange to see how quickly time goes by…" He said with a sad smile.

Danny chuckled. "Yeah, I know what you mean… A friend convinced me to go to our 15 year reunion back in Jersey. It was about 3 weeks after Grace had left to move here and it sucked! Everyone would ask f I was single, if I had a wife and kids… I hated how everyone was married and happy, while I was…" He looks up at Chin in realization, his expression falling. "Damn…" He said apologetically.

Chin winced. "Yeah..." He said sadly.

"I'm sorry buddy…" Danny said, not sure on what to do to make things better.

Chin squeezed Danny's knee. "It's ok, brah… that's life and I've chosen to go on living it… I know there will come a time when Malia's memory won't be tainted by her absence, when I won't let the darkness taint the joy that was my life with her, and I look forward to that time." He said with a sad smile.

Danny couldn't find anything to say to that, so he just settled for patting Chin's back. Right then, a nurse showed up to call Danny's name.

"Listen, you don't need to stick around. I'll give Steve a call if I need a ride; after all he's probably still driving my car!" He says, waving at Chin to go already.

Chin shook his head with a chuckle and moved towards Alan Kim's room, wondering if Steve and Kono really need any help.

* * *

An hour later, they caught their murderers and while Chin and Kono were on the way to HQ to book Richmond, Steve was busy coordinating a police escort for Kim for what was left of his hospital stay. He was distracted by the buzzing of his phone in his pocket.

Not recognizing the number, Steve took the call. "McGarrett."

"Hello, I'm calling from Queen's Medical Center. You're listed as Detective Daniel Williams emergency contact?" A soft voice said.

Steve frowned, moving quickly to the ER. "Yes, I'm his emergency contact, and I'm actually in the hospital right now. What's going on with my partner?" He asked, concerned.

"Oh, you're here? Detective Williams said he was alone… Well, once you get here doctor Matthews will explain Detective Williams' situation to you… Goodbye." The voice said before hanging up.

Steve frowned at the phone, not liking the idea of something being wrong with Danny, so he hurried to the ER and asked for the doctor that treated his partner.

The doctor came out a minute later, shaking Steve's hand and directing him towards a curtained area. "Well, Detective Williams has a hairline fracture in two of his fingers, some deep bruising on his lower back and a couple of lacerations that were cleaned and bandaged. We checked for internal bleeding due to the location of the back injury, but fortunately there were no signs at all of any internal damage."He said with a smile.

"However, when we gave him a mild painkiller, Detective Williams crashed…" The doctor continued, growing serious.

Steve's eyes opened wide at the news, and he couldn't understand the doctor telling him this as if he was talking about the weather.

The doctor seemed to notice Steve's reaction, and hurried to reassure him. "Oh, no! I don't mean that kind of crash! His vitals were perfectly normal, but even with the mild painkiller, he fell asleep quite suddenly and we couldn't manage to wake him up again…" He says with a shrug. "We ran a few tests and as it turns out, he was dehydrated, had a low blood sugar level and by the looks of it, was basically exhausted." He finished with a nod.

Steve winced in sympathy. He hadn't really thought about it, but after a very long trip to Cambodia they'd had gone straight to work, and had not even stopped for lunch. Steve was used to that kind of pace, but by the sounds of it, it had caught up to Danny. "Yeah, we've had a long couple of days…" He said with a nod. "So… How bad is it? You don't have to keep him here, do you?" He asks, concerned.

The doctor smiled. "No, not at all. With the IV we have him on he should wake up soon, I just didn't think he was in any condition to get home on his own, and I would suggest that someone stays with him at least for tonight…" The doctor said with a nod, motioning for Steve to go into the room where Danny was sleeping.

Danny was sleeping peacefully, soft snores coming from his mouth. He had his casted arm on a sling and an IV attached to his other arm. Apparently he heard them come in, because he opened his eyes blearily and looked at Steve. "Can we please go home now?" He mumbled, before snuffling a bit and closing his eyes again.

* * *

It took a bit of effort and a lot of stumbling, but somehow Steve managed to help a half asleep Danny to out of the hospital and into the car, and from there back to Steve's place. He'd called Chin and Kono and asked them if they could change their initial plans and hang out at his place instead of at Kamekona's, so they were waiting for them when they got there.

The only thing Danny was aware of was some jostling around and after a while he was lying on a familiar couch. That was all the reassurance he needed to shift to a more comfortable position and go on sleeping.

He woke up some time later when the smell of food and the noise around him penetrated the fog on his head. He ate some food and tried to follow the conversations around him, but mostly he just sat there on a daze. He thought he saw some photos of Chin with big, horrible hair and Jerry wearing some strange kind of uniform, playing a trumpet and being abducted by aliens, so he figured it was all part of some strange dream.

He drifted for a while, but when he blinked the room back into focus only Jerry was still in the room. "Where'd everyone go?"

Jerry was looking at something on the coffee table, lost in thought, so he jumped when Danny spoke. "Wha? Oh! Steve had to go out for a bit, Chin is out with the shrimp guy, cooking something, and the girls are at the water I think…"

Danny nodded, wondering for a minute if Grace was with him today.

"Grace? That's your daughter, right? I think Steve said that she was with her mom this week…" Jerry said, making Danny wonder if the aliens had turned him into some kind of telepath.

Jerry frowned. "Hey! I've never been abducted by aliens! And you have to be very high not to notice that you're actually talking…"

"Oh…" Danny said, or thought, or both. He looked at Jerry again, noticing that he looked like someone had kicked his puppy.

"Come on! I'm right here! And I don't have a puppy, so nobody could kick it!" Jerry grumbled.

Danny lifted his eyebrows, still a bit confused by the whole situation. "Ok… Then why do you have that face?" He asked Jerry… At least he was pretty sure he did this time.

Jerry sighed, lifting what looked like an old yearbook and showing it to Danny. "Laura Richmond wrote this… I… Really liked her…" He said sadly.

Danny frowned, reaching out to clumsily pat Jerry's shoulder. "I'm sorry babe…" He said sadly.

He looked at the beer on Jerry's hand and his frown deepened. "Hey… You need something stronger today!" He muttered, standing unsteadily to move to the kitchen and find something more adequate to drink.

Jerry followed him worriedly, so he handed him the bottle of scotch while he picked up the two glasses, tucking one inside his sling. "Ok… This is much better!" He said, motioning Jerry to move back to the living room.

Jerry looked at the bottle unsure. "I'm not really good with this kind of stuff… I pretty much pass out after a couple of drinks…" He said.

Danny shrugged, taking the bottle from him and pouring generously for the both of them. "Don't worry about it… Steve has plenty of room!" He said with a nod, reaching to take his own glass.

Unfortunately Chin came back inside right then and took the drink away from Danny, sitting on the couch at his side and toasting with Jerry. Jerry shrugged with a small smile and started drinking.

* * *

A while later Jerry was snoring, sounding like freight train with a few loose parts and Danny was staring at him in surprise. "He literally took just _two sips_ …" He muttered in awe.

Chin just chuckled. "Yeah, he's always been a bit of a lightweight… In that regard…" He said with a wink.

Just then Steve came back, stopping short at the sight of Jerry sleeping on his recliner. "What's going on?" He asked confusedly, turning to Danny and frowning at the drinks on the table. "Please don't tell me you were drinking, Danno…" He asked worriedly, giving both Chin and Danny accusing looks.

Before Chin could say anything, Danny stood up, swaying a bit on his feet. "Hey! For your information Chin here has been annoyingly helpful, getting me food, _orange juice_ and those lovely painkillers… Jerry here just had a crappy day, and he's grieving, so I thought he could use something stronger than a beer… I had no idea that he would drop like a rock…" He said with a shrug. "Besides, Chin pro'lly needed a drink as well!" He said with a nod, stumbling to sit at Chin's side again.

By the looks of it, Chin hadn't even touched his glass, he stood up quickly anyway, clearing up the table and taking everything to the kitchen. "Well, yeah… It's been fun, but I should probably go… Kono and Cath cleaned up the kitchen and Kamekona said we could hang at his truck tomorrow if Danny was feeling better…" He said, moving to the door, waving and leaving before Steve could even suggest that he took Jerry with him.

Steve just sighed, turning to Danny, deciding to deal with Jerry's presence in the morning. "Ok… So how're you doing, Danno?"

Danny just smiled dopily from the couch. "I'm fine… 'm great actually… not feelin' any pain…" He said with a happy smile.

Steve shook his head with a chuckle. "That's great Danno, but maybe you should sleep in the spare room tonight, just to avoid any headaches later?" He says, pulling Danny to his feet and nodding in Jerry's direction.

Danny just shrugged, and didn't put up a fight when Steve steered him upstairs. "Sorry babe… I just figured he could use a friend, you know?" He said, looking at Steve, who was by now helping Danny to take off his shoes.

"Hey… Do you need a friend right now?" He asked, turning to Steve with a frown, just now noticing that his friend looked worried.

Steve looked up at Danny's face with a tired smile. "Don't worry about it Danno… It's nothing that can't wait, and you've done enough for one night…" He said, helping Danny to lie down under the blankets.

Danny snuffled a bit, shifting to get into a more comfortable position. "Ok… Just let me know, 'k? And thanks… Thanks for worrin' about the thing…" He said, lifting his casted arm.

Steve chuckled. "No worries... Someone had to look after you, after all, you've been busy looking out for everyone else, it seems… "

Danny just shrugged, half asleep already. "Tha's what we do… Take care of the Ohana…" He said before finally closing his eyes.

Steve stood up, tucking the blankets around Danny and moving to his own room. There was a reason why he'd asked Danny to go with him to Cambodia, and it was exactly that; there was no one he trusted more to have his back than Danny Williams, and so it was his job to watch Danny's back in return, after all, they were Ohana.

* * *

**The end**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if this one makes that much sense, or if it actually has a plot, but I still hope you liked it! And I'd love to hear what you think about it!
> 
> Thanks for reading and I'll see you around!


	13. Out of the Rubble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there!
> 
> There's been a few codas to 4x19 and I'm loving all of them, but I needed to get my version out, so here it is!
> 
> Spoilers for the episode, of course!

Steve was talking to HPD and coordinating the removal of Edward Cobb's body when his phone started vibrating in his pocket. He took it out and frowned at the unknown number, taking the call and lifting it to his ear. "McGarrett." He snapped into the phone.

" _I leave you alone for two hours and you've already managed to kill somebody…"_ Danny's voice sounded tired from the other side of the line.

Steve shook his head. "What exactly did you want me to do, Danny? The guy was going to shoot me!" He said, not having the patience for explanations right now.

" _You could have started by bringing some backup with you!"_ Danny grumbled.

Steve sighed tiredly. "I brought Chin and Cath with me, ok? They were just outside… I just needed some answers first…" He says tiredly.

Danny is silent for a few seconds. _"Did you at least get them?"_ He asked worriedly.

"Some…" Steve said, not elaborating. He didn't really want to talk about all the new questions that he had now, so he looked for something to change the subject. "How did you know about the shooting anyway? Aren't you in Maui already, taking full advantage of the indoors?" He asked with a smile.

Danny sighed tiredly as well. _"Yeah… not so much. Remember how you told me that taking that huge piece of rebar out of my side and pouring that thing with peroxide, that by the way hurt like a son of a bitch, would avoid infection and certain death and all of that? Well… For future reference, it got infected anyway…"_ Danny said drily.

Steve frowned in concern. "What? Damn, that sucks man… Where are you?"

" _At Queens', stuck in a bed until at least tomorrow… Kono stopped by just long enough to check on me when she got Chin's call…"_ Danny grumbled. _"That's why I kind of need to ask you a favor…"_

* * *

Twenty minutes later Steve was taking a peek inside Danny's room. He found his partner lying on a bed with his eyes closed. It looked like they had bandaged the scrapes on Danny's forehead and they were just starting to bruise a painful shade of purple.

He entered the room with Cath behind him, noticing Grace sitting on a chair at the corner of the room, reading a book. She looked up when they came in and stood to give her uncle a hug. "Uncle Steve!" She said excitedly.

Steve leaned forward to hug Grace. "Hey kiddo…" When she moved to hug Cath Steve turned to look at Danny, who apparently had woken up when they came into the room. He certainly didn't look happy. "Hey Danno… How're you feeling?"

Danny was frowning at him, his arms crossed over his chest. "I'm great! They ripped the duct tape off my hairy side, took about 1001 x-rays, sent me up for a CT scan, which was TONS of fun in case you were wondering… Then they had to put me to sleep so they could _actually_ do the CT scan, then they poked inside where the thing was stuck, stitched up the hole it left, and then they decided that my temp was not where they were comfortable with, not even bothering to ask me if I'm comfortable with said temperature, so they wheeled me up here, saying that they're sorry but they need to monitor me closely, because if the infection is not controlled then my insides will…" He trails off when he notices that Grace is starting to look worried. "Well, my insides will not heal properly and then I'll be stuck eating fruit and vegetables forever and ever, and that's just a tragedy…" He says tiredly, lifting his hand to motion Grace closer. "But the good doctors are taking good care of me, so everything's gonna be alright, ok Monkey?" He said, pulling her into a hug.

He turned to Steve then, frowning again. "And here I was hoping that you would be a good friend and maybe take Grace here home and give her a nice, healthy dinner, make sure that she gets some rest, maybe cook some pancakes in the morning and drive her to school!" He said, sounding indignant.

Steve raised his eyebrows. "Well, I would be happy to do all of that for you and Gracie Danno, but why didn't you ask Amber?"

Danny rolled his eyes, turning to look at Grace. "Monkey, how long have you known Amber?"

"A few hours, Danno." She said softly with a shrug.

"Okay, and would you feel comfortable spending the night with someone you've just met?" He asked gently.

Grace gave him a shy look and shook her head.

Danny smiled at her comfortingly. "Ok, and how long have you known my crazy partner?"

Grace turned to Steve with a smile. "Years and years!"

"That's right, and would you be comfortable spending the night at his house?" He asked gently.

Grace turned to look at her dad, her expression turning sad. "Yes I would, but I want to stay here, taking care of you, Danno…" She said pleadingly.

Cath came closer, crouching to look at Grace's face. "Hey Grace… Don't you think it'll be fun? We can have a sleepover at Steve's, we'll make blueberry pancakes in the morning and then after school you can come back and visit your dad…" She said with a smile.

Grace gave her a small smile and turned to look at her dad. "I'd like that, would you mind Danno?" She asked, looking unsure.

Danny was still looking at Steve with a frown on his face. "I'm not sure, Monkey… You see, we were in a very dirty place, with lots of rocks, dust and sharp things, and when I came here the nurses used sponges and cloths to clean most of the mud and dirt from me, and then they put band-aids on here and here…" He says, showing the bandages on his face. "But Uncle Steve here only looks slightly less dirty than what he looked like when we got out of there, and he has no band-aids on that nasty scratch on his nose… You know what that means Monkey?"

Grace looked from her dad to her uncle and back to Danny, shaking her head.

"It means that Uncle Steve hasn't been checked over by a doctor yet, so I can't ask him to take you home… I wouldn't want him to get a stomachache in the middle of the night and then have you two ending up back here anyway…" He said with a sad shake of his head.

Cath just chuckled while Grace looked worriedly at her uncle. "Uncle Steve! You have to see a doctor!"

Steve glared at his partner and gave Grace a comforting smile. "Don't worry about it Gracie, I'm perfectly fine!"

Before he could continue Danny piped up. "Not true, you haven't had a professional making sure that you're not more hurt than you think!"

Grace moved closer to Steve's side, reaching out to take his hand. "Uncle Steve, would you please let a doctor take care of you? I don't want you to get sick later…" She asked, using her best puppy eyed face.

Steve sighed, crouching with a wince to get at Grace's level. "Sweetheart, I'm fine! Besides, who would stay with you if I'm stuck here with a doctor?" He asked.

Cath cleared her throat just then. "Well, if Danny is ok with it, I think Grace and I would do great on our own, don't you?" She asks, looking at Grace to see how she feels about the idea.

Grace looks excitedly from Cath to Danny. "Can I stay with her Danno? Can I?"

Danny smiles, nodding in acquiesce. "Sure Monkey, it sounds like a great idea! Especially since it means that Uncle Steve has all the time in the world to see a doctor, and what do you know! We're in a hospital right now!" He says happily before pressing the call button for a nurse.

* * *

A couple of hours later Grace and Cath had gone home and Danny was stuck in his hospital bed, trying to find a less uncomfortable position while keeping an eye out for his crazy partner.

He had started to doze when he was woken by the sound of his door opening. He saw a tall figure standing in the door. "What took you so long, huh? Did they have to sew your skull together?" He asked, but was surprised when the person at the doorway was not his partner, but a male nurse.

He was even more surprised when he saw the bed the nurse was pulling into the room. "The tests took a little longer than expected, but he's finally done…" The nurse said with a smile.

Steve was asleep and Danny grew concerned when he didn't even stir when the bed was settled next to Danny's. "Is he ok? What the hell happened?" He asked, trying to sit straighter to take a better look at his partner.

"He's doing ok, a couple of cracked ribs, a concussion and lots of bruises. The doctor wanted to make sure that his nose was not broken and that there was no sign of further damage in his brain, so it took a while to do the X rays and CT scan. He's mostly exhausted and a bit dehydrated. He's staying overnight to recover a bit, and to monitor him as a precaution…" The nurse said, trying to calm Danny.

All the movement and talking made Steve rouse from his sleep. He looked around the room, blinking sluggishly. He smiled when he saw Danny on the bed next to his. "Hey Danno…"

Danny leaned back against his bed, giving his partner a tired smile. "Hey babe… How you doin'?"

Steve smiled dopily. "'m fine… nothin' hurts 'nymore… You?"

Danny chuckled, relieved at seeing that Steve was not feeling any pain. "That's good, buddy… I'm fine, they're giving me medicine, so I'll be alright, now go back to sleep, ok?" Danny said.

Steve nodded, closing his eyes. He started to snore softly a minute later. The nurse moved to Danny's bed, checking his temp and blood pressure. "Your temp is still on the high side, I'll give you the next dose of antibiotics and painkillers so you can get some rest, ok?" He said, injecting the medicine into Danny's IV bag.

The medicine was working quickly; taking away most of the discomfort on Danny's side and making him feel very sleepy. "'k… Thanks…" He mumbled. He saw the nurse lowering the lights and moving towards the door, but Danny really didn't like the idea of being stuck in a dark place right now. "Wait… Could you leave the light on?" He said, and once the lights were on again he could finally close his eyes.

* * *

Steve was sleeping comfortably, for once not caring about waking up at dawn to go for a swim or about the whole mess with the CIA, Doris and Wo Fat. He felt a bit sore, but nothing that would disturb his sleep; however there was something nagging at him that wouldn't let him go back under.

He sighed, keeping his eyes closed and trying to listen if there was something around him that was causing him to wake. The sound of rapid breathing and a few distressed noises made him snap his eyes open and look around the room.

Danny was the one with the rapid breathing, and by the way he thrashed in his bed, he probably was the one making the distressed noises as well. Steve frowned, moving off his blankets and carefully taking off his IV before moving to his partner's side. His steps were a bit wobbly and he was sore all over, but he managed to get to Danny's side without incident.

Danny was moving his head from side to side against the pillow and mumbling things that Steve couldn't understand. Steve reached out to touch his forehead and found that it was too warm, so he pressed the button to call a nurse.

The nurse came in and took Danny's temperature, rushing out to find the doctor once she saw that it was too high, so Steve was left there, looking at how his friend was trapped in some kind of nightmare. "Hey, Danno… Wake up. You're fine, it's fine…" He started talking, hoping to get his friend out of wherever nightmare he was trapped in.

It took some time, but finally Danny opened fever-bright eyes to look at his partner. "Steve? Help me, I can't get out… can't breathe…" He said softly, looking around the room.

Steve took Danny's hand, squeezing tightly. "No, Danno… You're fine, you're out, you see, we're not trapped anymore!" He said motioning towards their dimly lit room.

Danny shook his head tiredly, giving Steve a broken look. "I'm sorry… Should've tried harder… Maybe should've just stayed away… Now you're gone too…"

Steve frowned, leaning forward to catch Danny's eyes. "No Danny, I'm not going anywhere, I'm right here buddy and we're both gonna be fine, ok?"

Danny kept shaking his head, trying not to look at Steve. "No, you… you're dead and I should've known better… Good things never end well for me… People I care about either leaves or gets killed, and now it was your turn…" Danny said sadly.

Steve shook his head. "What are you talking about? Grace is right here I'm right here… Your Ohana is not leaving you anytime soon buddy…"

Danny closed his eyes, a pained look on his face. "No… You want proof? Billy... Grace... Meka…" He said, sounding as if each name could phisically hurt him, a single tear escaping through the corner of his eye. "And then there's Rachel, Rick… Gaby… I even lost my own brother, you see?" He said, his voice increasing in volume until he was almost shouting.

Steve didn't really know what to say to get Danny from this fevered nightmare, so he just hung on, hoping that Danny would take some comfort from his presence. "Oh Danno…" He muttered, his heart breaking for his friend's pain.

"A-and the only good thing… My Grace… When she left, I… I had to give up _everything_ to get her back…" Danny finished with a hitched breath.

Steve shook his head. "No Danno, you've lost a lot, but you've gained some things as well, some people in return… You're happy here now…" He said helplessly.

Danny's energy was spent and he seemed to sink further against his pillow, blinking tiredly. "It won't last… Never does… Just easier to accept it now… Makes it not hurt so much…" He said finally before he closed his eyes and went silent.

Just then the doctor and a couple of nurses rushed into the room, forcing Steve to move back to his bed and moving to check Danny's injury and administer some medicine into his IV.

* * *

An hour later the doctor had finally managed to get a hold of Danny's fever and the movements around his bed had become less frantic and concerned. The doctor finished writing something on Danny's chart and then moved to Steve's bed, instructing a nurse to reattach his IV and add another dose of pain killers. "Ok Commander, let's see if you didn't manage to injure yourself further by getting out of your bed."

Steve frowned at the doctor and only glared at the nurse with the IV, pulling his arm away before she could even try to poke him with the needle. "I'm fine, and I don't need that! I just want to know what the hell is going on with my partner!" He said, turning his glare back to the doctor.

The doctor seemed to stand taller in order to address Steve. "Commander, Detective Williams is doing well now. Unfortunately the antibiotic that we were using was not dealing with the infection as we first hoped, but we have administered a more aggressive treatment and it looks like it's working. His fever is lowering steadily and we'll keep monitoring him throughout the night." He said with a nod.

Steve seemed to calm down a bit, but he still wouldn't let the nurse put the IV back. "I don't need that. Someone needs to keep an eye on Danny, and I'm gonna do it…" He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

The doctor sighed tiredly, motioning for the nurse to wait for a while. "Commander, I realize that you're worried about your partner, but you also were trapped under a collapsed building, you need rest as much as he does."

Steve looked ready to protest, but the doctor just kept talking. "What would he said if he found out you were up all night looking at him sleeping while you should have been on a bed yourself?"

Steve smiled a bit at the thought of the rant that would come from his partner, but he recovered quickly. "I'm fine…" He said.

The doctor rolled his eyes at Steve. "Your head is pounding, you're sore all over, your nose and your ribs are way more painful than you're willing to admit and you're having trouble staying awake as we speak! Commander, we're going to be monitoring Danny very closely… It'll be almost as if he were in the ICU, but without all the machines. I promise we'll take good care of your partner, but I need you to help us take care of yourself." He said seriously.

Steve gave the doctor a long look. "You'll wake me if he gets worse?"

The doctor just chuckled. "I don't believe it will be necessary but I will inform you if he's not evolving as we hope he will."

Steve finally laid back down on his bed, allowing the nurse to put back the IV and giving the doctor a look that spoke by itself about what would happen if he didn't comply with his part of the deal. He then turned to look at his partner, relieved at the fact that Danny didn't look as distressed as he did before. His eyes finally closed, hoping that Danny would be better when he next woke.

* * *

It was light outside by the time Steve opened his eyes again. He looked around the room, noticing that the IV on his arm was gone and that all the movement he could feel around the room through most of the night had calmed somewhat. He leaned forward to take a look at Danny and was relieved to see that his partner looked much better than the night before and it looked like he was sleeping peacefully.

Steve took advantage of the fact that he was not stuck with the IV anymore and moved quietly to the bathroom, using the opportunity to clean up a bit. Once he got out he found Danny looking around the room with a confused expression on his face, so he moved closer to his bed, sitting on the chair by the side. "Hey Danno, how're you feeling?"

Danny was still looking a bit confused. "Not sure… I kind of feel like I was crushed by a steamroller… Did I sleepwalk and ended up running a marathon last night or something?" He grumbled, not even bothering to move his head around or lift his hands as he would usually do.

Steve chuckled. "No buddy, your fever spiked during the night and they had some trouble getting it back down, but it looks like the meds are working now…" He said with a relieved smile.

Danny groaned, closing his eyes. "Please tell me I didn't make a fool of myself? And if I did, what would it take to buy your silence?" He asked, opening his eyes to give Steve a worried look.

Steve shook his head. "Don't worry Danno… You were a bit confused, but you definitely didn't make a fool of yourself."

Danny studied his friend, furrowing his brow. "Ok… Then what's the face about?" He asked, barely lifting his finger to point in the general direction of Steve's face.

"I don't know… I'm just glad that we both got out of this one somehow unscathed, and I'm sorry I got you into that whole mess…" Steve said with a shrug.

Danny groaned. "Please, I'm tired and sore… Could you for once pretend that I gave you the whole speech about not everything being your fault? I really don't have the energy to do it right now… I don't know how it hasn't managed to get into your thick skull by now…" He said with a tired sigh.

Steve lowered his head, chuckling. "Ok, I'll get that into my think skull, but on one condition…" He said, lifting his face to look straight at his partner with a serious expression.

Danny lifted his eyebrows in question. "And what would that be?" He asked, turning serious as well.

Steve leaned forward, looking closely at his partner. "That you get it into that thick skull of yours that you're not alone anymore. That you have family here, Ohana, and that we're not going to leave you for anything in the world. That we're going to be there to protect each other and to protect you and Grace, so you can finally stop worrying…" He said, reaching out to squeeze Danny's forearm.

Danny had to look away and swallow a couple of times before he could say anything. "You can't promise that…" He said, finally turning to look at Steve with bright eyes.

Steve chuckled. "Have you forgotten who you're talking to? Did the fever fry your brain or something?" He asked with a smile, pretending to check Danny for a fever.

Danny just rolled his eyes, swatting Steve's hand away. "Ha ha ha… I'm being serious…"

Steve just smiled at him. "So am I Danno…" He said, looking straight at Danny's eyes. "So, do we have a deal?" He asked, extending his hand.

Danny looked at his partner for a minute, not really sure of what he was looking for, but finding it anyway. He drew a deep breath and reached out to grab Steve's hand, just as he had when Steve had found him buried between the rubble. "Yeah, ok… We have a deal…" He said softly.

Steve smiled happily and squeezed Danny's hand, noticing that his partner's grip was not as strong as it usually was. "I'm glad Danno…" He said just as softly. "Ok, now that that's settled, you need to go back to sleep so you can take Amber to Maui… Unless she needs her parents' permission or something like that?"

Danny's only answer was to flip him the finger with a roll of his eyes. He shifted to burrow deeper into the covers, peeking at Steve from under them. "Right, and you should call your girl to get you some clothes, because nobody should have to suffer the sight of you wearing nothing more than a hospital gown… I'm just gonna try to blame it on the fever and write it off as a fevered nightmare or something!" He said, covering his face with the sheet.

Steve moved back to his bed, shaking his head in amusement. "Alright Danno, go to sleep already, I'll keep watch…"

Danny moved the sheet off his face and settled more comfortably in the bed, closing his eyes with a smile. "Ok… Thanks babe… For everything…" He mumbled before he finally allowed sleep to take him. He smiled, realizing that he felt lighter than he had felt in a really long time, and he knew it was not just the weight of the rubble that Steve had just lifted off of him.

* * *

**The end**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. I sympathized with Danny's tendencies to look at the worst possible outcome of every situation, and I wanted to show that it was not only in his head or him being over dramatic or whiny, but that things had really been tough for him and that the way he'd handled loss was to get used to things not going well for him.
> 
> I'd really like to hear what you think about this one, and thanks again for reading!


	14. The Ohana's watch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, this one has some spoilers for episode 4x21.

Danny was just entering his house when he noticed the envelope that had been slipped under his door. He opened it, dropping its contents on his coffee table.

It was a DVD disc and a note that read "DON'T LET HIM GO BACK THERE".

He knew he wouldn't like whatever that was on the disc, and he thought for a minute about leaving it there, go to bed, sleep long enough to make up for the last five days from hell and then deal with whatever the hell was in the disc, but he knew he couldn't do that and get any sleep, so he put it on the DVD player and sat down to watch.

The video showed Steve being held down on his knees by two Taliban guys, while another one blabbered some nonsense while waving a huge knife around. They were hitting Steve, and he was fighting every step of the way. Danny watched in muted shock as Steve struggled and managed to get free, giving the assholes a couple of good punches, but in the end there were too many of them and they managed to subdue him again, pulling his hair to leave his neck exposed. Just as the guy was lifting the knife, Steve released a scream that made bile rise in Danny's throat.

Before the knife could do any damage, the image went dark, and Danny found himself having to rush to the bathroom to lose the crappy military rations that they've given him on the plane into the toilet. Damn, he hated puking.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Danny was using his key to enter Steve's house. So the guy had insisted that he would be ok for the night and that he needed some time alone, but that was before Danny had gotten his "Sneak Peek" into his partner's capture.

He knocked before opening the door, not wanting to end up with a gun in his face. "Steve? It's Danny…" He said softly, peeking into the room. He shouldn't have worried about Steve pointing a gun in his direction, because his friend was currently sitting on the recliner, hunched over with his face buried in his good hand.

Danny frowned, deciding to brave the storm anyway. He moved quietly, standing in front of Steve, and when that didn't seem to register with his friend, sitting on the coffee table in front of him. "Hey Buddy, what's going on? You said you were going straight to bed…" He asked quietly, reaching out to gently squeeze Steve's good shoulder.

Steve gasped, looking up at Danny sharply. "Danny?" He asked, shaking his head. "I… Cath called… She- she's not coming back, and I can't go back there…" He said brokenly, looking away.

Danny winced in sympathy. "I'm sorry babe, but at least you know she's ok…"

Steve shook his head. "No, I should be there with her… I should have stayed there and look for her!" He muttered, and somehow Danny knew that Steve would be pacing the room like a caged animal if he wasn't feeling like crap right now.

Danny shook his head as well. "Ok, supposing you had managed to bypass the two troglodytes guarding us day and night, do you think you would have gotten anywhere in the state you were in?"

Steve just shook his head, still looking at his phone as if it could somehow help him to bring Cath back home.

Danny could see that Steve was still in a lot of pain, and probably due for another dose of meds, so he decided to take over. He stood up, putting his hand on Steve's elbow and pulling him to his feet. "Ok big guy… We'll see what we can do tomorrow, after you've gotten some rest in something that actually looks like a bed." He said, leading a worryingly unresisting Steve to his room.

Steve sat on the bed and allowed Danny to help him get into sweats and a comfortable t shirt, he took the meds and the glass of water his partner gave him and didn't resist when he nudged him to lie down. He watched detachedly as Danny practically tucked him into bed. "She's alone out there. I should be helping her…" He mumbled, blinking sleepily.

Danny patted his leg. "You tried buddy, got captured and had the crap beat out of you… You did everything you could, and you'll probably go back there if she asks, but right now she needs to do this by herself, and you need to heal. So please, can you for once take care of yourself, so that you can be better if she ever needs you?"

Steve looked at Danny for a minute, but in the end the drugs took the choice away from him and he fell asleep.

Danny sighed tiredly, looking around the room and pulling a chair to sit by Steve's bed. He placed his gun where he could reach it easily and picked up a book from Steve's night stand, settling to keep watch for the night.

* * *

Danny had nodded off in a truly uncomfortable position on the chair, but a soft noise at the door had him reaching for the gun and pointing it at the figure standing there before he was even fully awake.

Lou Grover lifted his hands in the air, moving into the light. "Shit, Williams… It's just me…"

Danny didn't have any intention to lower his gun. "What are you doing here? How did you get in?" He asked in a low voice.

He heard a familiar voice coming from the hallway. "I let him in Danny, we came to check on Steve…" Chin said softly, coming into the room behind Grover and frowning at the gun on Danny's hand. "Put it down, brah… It's just us…"

Danny lowered his gun, putting it back on Steve's night stand. "Yeah, ok… Sorry…"

Lou came closer to Steve's bed, frowning at the injuries that he could see. "How's he doing?" He asked.

Danny shrugged, passing a tired hand down his face. "He's a mess… The guys out there just patched him up enough to get in the plane, and said he should take some days off, but I'll see if I can make him see a doctor tomorrow… Just to make sure that his skull is not more damaged than it was in the first place, or something else is wrong with him…"

Chin moved to Danny's side, crouching by his chair. "How about you? How are you doing?" He asked his friend.

Danny crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm fine. I'm not the one that was… I'm… I'm fine…" He said with a shrug, not looking at Chin.

Chin stood up, patting Danny's shoulder in comfort.

Danny didn't pay attention to what Chin and Grover were doing, he just looked at Steve, beating himself up over falling asleep. He was surprised when Chin moved to block his view and dropped some clothes on his lap. "Alright brah, put those on…"

Danny looked at the clothes on his lap, a pair of Steve's track pants and a faded blue T shirt that read "NAVY SEALS" in big yellow letters, and couldn't really get what Chin wanted. "What?" He asked confusedly.

Chin shook his head, crouching to help Danny to take off his shoes. "Put those on, then you're getting some rest…" He said kindly.

Danny shook his head. "No… I told you I'm fine! I need to stay here…" He said, trying not to raise his voice.

Chin gave Danny a worried look. "Danny, you look like hell… You won't be of any help to Steve if you're dead on your feet!"

Danny shook his head quickly, turning to look at Grover and see if he would understand. "No… You guys don't get it… They almost… I saw it all… There's a video…" He said brokenly.

Chin reached out to squeeze Danny's arm. "We know, brah… We got a disk too…" He said sadly.

Danny looked from Chin to Grover in shock, finding in their expressions that they knew exactly what happened to Steve out there. "Then you know I'm not leaving him…" He said, giving Chin a determined look.

Chin shook his head tiredly. "Danny, I'm not asking you to leave him, his bed is big enough for the both of you…"

Danny gave Chin a disbelieving look, still not making any moves to change. "No thanks, I'm fine here…"

Grover came closer, giving Danny an annoyed look. "Ok Williams, you were away looking for this guy for about five days, he was gone for a week. How many hours would you say you slept in those five days?"

Danny just glared at the larger man. "I'm fine…" He muttered, annoyed.

Grover rolled his eyes. "You know what? For some reason these guys care about what happens to your contrary little self, so would it kill you to lie down for five freaking minutes? If you still won't sleep then you can go back to the chair and I'll get you a cup of coffee myself, ok?"

Danny didn't even bother to answer Grover, choosing to take the clothes from Chin and move to the bathroom to change instead. He came back, standing by the bed, giving Chin a pleading look. "If I fall asleep, you gotta wake me up before he does, or he'll find some way to make my life miserable…" He said nodding in Steve's direction.

Chin put his hand on Danny's shoulder, pulling the covers so Danny could get into the bed. "Don't worry Brah… I'll make sure that Steve doesn't have any reason to tease you…" He said, nudging him until Danny finally lied down.

Danny turned his back on Chin and Grover, lying on his side so he could easily look at Steve. He had every intention to stay awake and make Grover bring him the coffee that he offered, but once he was lying down he started having trouble to keep his eyes opened. He jumped a bit when Steve twitched on his side of the bed, groaning softly in discomfort, and didn't even notice he had reached out and taken Steve's wrist until he was squeezing it gently. "Easy, babe… You're fine…" He said softly.

Steve quieted and Danny didn't remove his hand. He could feel Steve's heartbeat fluttering on his wrist, and suddenly Danny didn't really care that much about staying awake anymore. Knowing that Steve was right here and safe, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Steve was warm, comfortable, and most surprising of all, he felt safe. He drifted half awake for a minute, wondering what had woke him up, but he couldn't really find a reason. He felt a gentle tug on his arm and heard a sound that brought him awake in a second.

He opened his eyes, looking to the side to find Danny lying on the bed next to him. The tug he had felt was Danny's hand, which was twitching from time to time. Danny's face was pinched and he was whimpering softly in distress. He was mumbling something, but the only thing Steve caught was something that sounded like _"Steve_ ", " _Stop_ " and " _Don't hurt him_ ".

Steve frowned, turning his hand to take a hold of Danny's. "Hey, Danno… You're ok… We're fine…" He said gently, not wanting to wake him up too suddenly if he could help it.

Danny was still trapped in his nightmare, so Steve tried again. "Ok Danno, enough of this. I'm fine, we're home, so wake the hell up!" He muttered, pulling on Danny's hand a bit.

Danny shuddered from head to toe, breathed a trembling sigh and then went quiet. The only evidence of his nightmare was his hand latching more tightly to Steve's, but other than that, he was dead to the world.

Now that Danny was sleeping peacefully, Steve could see the strain of the last few days on his friend's face. He could remember the surprise he felt when he woke up and found his partner sitting by his bed, and after that, he could remember that Danny hardly ever left his side, and only caught him sleeping on the plane back for a little while. He frowned, hating to see the toll the last few days had had on his partner.

Some movement nearby brought Steve's attention to the side of the bed, where both Chin and Grover were sitting. He was surprised to see them, and even more when he realized that they had been watching over him and Danny, which actually explained why Danny was currently wearing one of his Navy SEAL's shirts.

He gave the two men a tired smile and a nod in thanks, and settled himself more comfortably in the bed, careful not to shake Danny's hold on his arm and went back to sleep, knowing that his Ohana had their backs, as always.

* * *

The end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I was not too sure about posting this one. It's kind of a desperate way to make the plot about Danny, when it was clearly about Steve, but I'd still like to see what you think of it!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	15. False Despair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for symplyn2deep's The Steve/Danny (or Steve & Danny) Hug-a-thon. I hope you like it! :D

It had been a difficult case. Young men taking their own lives after being exposed to an unknown substance had the team investigating the case around the clock.

Finally a specific mix of drugs found in one of the victims led them to a clandestine drug lab, where a couple of college kids were synthesizing a new drug that supposedly would make them reach an all new high.

During the take down, both Danny and one of the SWAT guys had been exposed to a white powder that one of the suspects had thrown in their direction while trying to flee, which earned them both a trip to the hospital.

Once the arrests were made, Steve was finally free to go to the hospital and check on his partner. He was surprised to find that Danny was being released with a clean bill of health. There was no trace of drugs in Danny's system, and he was not showing any symptoms of being affected by it.

Steve was not convinced. They wouldn't get the test results of what exactly those guys were producing in that lab until at least a couple of days, and he hated the uncertainty. It took two doctors to convince him that Danny was in perfect health, and that the strange powder hadn't had any effect on his partner. They instructed Danny to get some rest and come back to the hospital if he experienced any strange symptoms.

Steve grudgingly allowed Danny to drive him back home, and he was even more hesitant to leave the other man alone at his place. Grace would be in Vegas for the next couple of weeks, and he hadn't heard from Amber for a while, so he'd tried to convince Danny to stay at his place, with no success.

All Danny wanted was to take a shower, get some rest and try to forget the last 48 hours ever happened. He determinedly drove Steve to his place, dropped him off with a promise that he'll just rest and watch a game, and that of course he would call if he started to feel strange.

* * *

Steve hadn't been happy about it, but he was not given much of a choice. He busied himself by taking a swim, cooking a quick dinner and watching a football game. He was about to call it a night when his phone started ringing.

He picked it up quickly, frowning when he saw Danny's name on the screen. "Hey Danno, I thought you'd be asleep by now… Everything ok?" He asked, hoping that Danny was just calling to say goodnight.

Danny's reply made it clear that it wasn't. _"Steve? I… I think something's not right… Can you… Can you come over?"_ He asked in shaky voice.

Steve was already moving before Danny had even finished talking, so he was out the door and in his truck in less than a minute. "Sure Danno, I'm on the way… Why don't you tell me what's up?"

He could hear Danny sighing at the other side of the line. _"I… I'm not sure… This is so stupid! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called… Just forget about it, ok?"_ He said, not sounding any better.

Steve shook his head. He was already half way there, so there was no way he was turning back home right now. Besides, he could hear that something was wrong with his partner, even if he didn't want to admit it so readily. "Hey man, I'm already on the way. Just let me come over, check on you and if it's really nothing then I'll leave you in peace and go back home… I'll be there in five minutes, ok?"

It took Danny a minute to answer, and by then Steve was already a couple of blocks away from Danny's place. _"Ok… Ok, you can come over… Thanks man… See you soon?"_ Danny said, sounding relieved.

Steve sighed in relief as well. "Yeah Danno, I'll be right there. I'll let myself in… See you soon…" He said before cutting the call.

* * *

When Steve entered Danny's place he was surprised to find the other man sitting on the couch in the dark, looking at the TV. He was wearing some well worn shorts and an old faded t-shirt, and was studiously not looking at Steve. Most concerning were the arms tightly crossed around his chest and the knee that kept going up and down in a nervous gesture.

"Hey Danny, what's up?" Steve said, moving to sit on the coffee table in front of his friend. He didn't like what he could see of his partner, but he wasn't seeing anything that required an urgent trip to the hospital, so he needed to get more intel.

Danny shook his head to himself, lifting his hand to scratch his forehead nervously. "I'm sorry man, I shouldn't have called… This is stupid… It's nothing really…" He said in a soft voice, not looking at the man sitting in front of him.

Steve frowned, knowing in his gut that it wasn't 'nothing'. "Why don't you tell me what's going on? If it's really nothing then we can have a beer and I'll be on my way…" He said with a shrug, hoping that Danny would open up.

Danny sniffed, scrubbing a hand quickly over his eyes. "I don't know… I was just watching the game, having a beer. We've had a long couple of days, and I was tired, but didn't really feel like sleeping…" He said softly, still looking at his feet.

Steve nodded, not wanting to interrupt Danny.

"All of a sudden, I started thinking about stuff… About Billy, and about Grace… My partner, and how she… How she was killed… I started thinking about the time when Rachel left me, and about… About the baby, how much I wanted him to be mine…" Danny said in a hoarse voice.

He finally looked up at Steve's face, his eyes filled with tears. "I started thinking about Peterson, and what he could have done to Grace while he had her, about how crappy was everything before you dragged me to this crazy group of people and about every bad thing that ever happened to me…" He said, shaking his head in confusion.

Steve placed his hand on Danny's knee, trying to provide some comfort. "Hey man… Things are better now, right? You know you can call me, or Chin or Kono, hell… You can even call Kame if you ever feel down!" He said, hoping to reassure his friend.

Danny shook his head a little desperately, passing a trembling hand down his face. "No, you don't get it… I know all that! And all of that stuff… It all hurt, but I've moved on! I'll kill you if you ever tell anyone, but for the last few months I think I've actually felt happy, even if I'm still stuck in this pineapple infested hellhole!" He said, waving his hands around jerkily. "I have Grace most of the time, and I have a job that I love, even if you make it a point of getting me shot at least once a month… Things with Amber are going well, and ever since… ever since that damn bomb blew up I made it a point of following your advice." He said sadly, sighing. "I haven't been dreading when everything is going to fall into pieces and things have been better…" He finished with a soft sob, burying his face in his hands.

Steve reached out and squeezed Danny's shoulder, not really liking how much the other man was shaking. "Hey man… That's really good… I'm glad to hear it, and I promise not to give you a hard time about it…" He said, now completely clueless about how to help his friend.

Danny lifted his face, focusing his desperate eyes on Steve's. "No man… You don't get it… Hell, I don't even get it myself! Before… Before I called you, I went over to the safe and took out my gun. I took out my gun and I brought it with me…" Danny said in a small voice. "I have it here with me, with the safety off, and I don't know why the fuck I did that…" Danny finished with a terrified sob, lifting the gun with his right hand and showing it to Steve.

Steve was speechless for a few seconds, but then mentally shook himself and went back to squeezing Danny's shoulder. "Hey, hey, Danno. It's alright… It's probably that stuff they threw on you… But it's all good, because you did the right thing… You called me, and we'll take care of it, ok? We'll get you checked by a doc and the stuff is going to wear off and that'll be it, ok?" He said, trying to sound reassuring.

Danny didn't look too convinced, but nodded. "Ok… You really think so?" He asked, just trying to get some reassurance.

Steve nodded with what he hoped was a confident smile. "Yeah man… We'll stop by the hospital, and it'll all be ok. But before we can do that, you have to give me the gun, Danno." He said seriously, extending his hand for the gun.

Danny had his fingers wrapped tightly around the gun, being very careful not to touch the trigger, so at Steve's words he lifted his hand and placed the gun on Steve's, breathing a shaky sigh when he was finally free of the weapon.

Steve sighed in relief as well, immediately engaging the safety and putting the gun on the waistband of his pants. "Ok Danno. What about your backup? Do you have it with you?" He asked casually, trying to make sure that they were out of the woods.

Danny shook his head. "No, that one's still in the safe…" He said, pointing with his thumb in the direction of the room.

Steve patted Danny behind his head, pulling him close into a hug. "That's good Danno…"

Danny buried his face on Steve's shoulder, his whole frame shaking with soft sobs. He managed to calm a bit after a couple of minutes, but didn't release the strong hold he had on his partner. "This is so stupid. You'll probably never let me live this one down…" He said between hitching breaths.

Steve was just glad that Danny had called, and didn't even want to think about what may have happened if he hadn't. "Well, I've always said you're too sensitive, man…" He said with a relieved chuckle, not planning on letting go of his partner any time soon.

Danny laughed nervously, not moving away from Steve's embrace. "Thanks babe…" He said softly.

Steve just pated his back. "Any time, brother…"

About five minutes later, Danny seemed to have calmed down somewhat, so Steve wanted to get him checked out as soon as possible. "Danno… You ready to go to the hospital?" He asked, releasing a bit his hold on his partner.

Danny on the other hand didn't seem to want to move from his current position. "Yeah… Just… Can we wait a couple of more minutes?" He asked in a small voice, not lifting his head from Steve's shoulder.

Steve chuckled. Patting Danny's back affectionately. "Ok Danno. Ten more minutes…" He said with a smile.

* * *

Eventually Steve managed to get Danny to the hospital, and a well placed call got the SWAT officer to the hospital as well. After a bunch of tests and some information gathered from the drug dealers, they finally managed to pinpoint the drug that had been administered. According to them, a drug that made you really down before a drug that made you really high would make the high seem so much better, so they had isolated different drugs that caused the 'down effect' and that's what Danny had come in contact with. Once they knew what they were dealing with, a treatment was administered to help the drugs wear off more quickly.

3 days later, Danny was finally being released with a clean bill of health. Steve picked him up on the Camaro, and as usual, Danny started ranting about how miserable his life was since Steve appeared to steal his crime scene.

Steve just smiled happily, shaking his head in amusement. "Come on Danno. You already admitted that you love working with me, that you're starting to like Hawaii and that you're actually feeling happy right now, so you can drop the act whenever you want…" He said with a teasing smile.

Danny glared at him, shaking his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you went there… I confided in you, and you throw it in my face?! That's just a low blow, man…" He said, turning to look out the passenger window, trying to cover the smile trying to burst free.

Steve chuckled happily, knowing that Danny was just getting started. When the rant carried on without even giving Steve a chance to get a word in, he knew that Danny would truly be fine, and he'd make sure to always be there when he wasn't.

* * *

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so this one didn't have much of a plot. I just needed the Danny from season 4, without so many emotional troubles, to have a reason to really need a hug, but without giving him even more emotional troubles, so this came up?
> 
> Let me know if you love it or hate it! :D
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	16. Unexpected Guardian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, this is kind of a tag to the season finale, in a roundabout kind of way. Not any important spoilers I think.
> 
> Enjoy!

Lou Grover was not in any hurry to go back home. His wife and daughter were back in Chicago visiting family, so he had offered to stay late finishing up paperwork while Steve, Chin and Kono went home.

It was Wednesday, and they had been working on a case since Monday, just managing to make the arrest a few hours ago. They had worked around the clock, so everyone was pretty exhausted by the time they were done. Well, everyone but Danny, who was on vacation since last Friday, currently away in Jersey for his mother's birthday.

With a tired sigh Lou signed the last of the paperwork, leaving a few reports for Steve to review, and decided to close for the day. He closed the office, setting up the alarm and went downstairs to the parking lot in search of his truck.

* * *

The parking lot was dark, so at first Lou didn't see the figure standing by the passenger's door and peeking inside. By the time he saw the man, he had already broken the passenger's window with his elbow and was opening the door.

"Oh no, you didn't…" Lou growled under his breath, taking his gun out of the holster and moving closer to his truck. "Five – 0! Put your hands in the air and step away from the truck!" He said loudly, keeping the dark figure in his sights.

He had a few seconds to kick himself before the dark figure moved swiftly away from his truck. He had totally forgotten that he'd left his spare weapon in the glove compartment, and now it was pointing straight at his face.

Lou was about to demand the other guy to drop the weapon when the overhead light allowed him to really look at him. He had to do a double take when he recognized the face in front of him. "Williams? What the hell are you doing?!" He growled, pretty pissed at the situation.

Danny ignored Grover's words, but on a closer look, Lou feared that he just hadn't heard him. Danny's shirt looked torn in places, filthy and bloodstained and his slacks didn't look much better. He had scrapes and bruises on his face, with his hair waving around crazily, and most concerning, the hands pointing the gun in Lou's direction were shaking badly.

Danny blinked a couple of times, looking at Grover with a puzzled expression on his face. "Where's Steve? Need to talk to 'im…" Danny muttered, looking around frantically and not lowering the gun.

Grover lifted his eyebrows, but didn't move his gun away from Danny. "He's not here, he went home early… Now why don't you put that down and I can drive you to his place?" He said, trying not to sound too annoyed at the other man.

Danny shook his head quickly, taking a step to the side to keep his balance. "No… His truck's here… Where is he? I need to talk to him!" He growled, breathing heavily.

Lou rolled his eyes, lowering the gun. If Williams was stubborn when he was well and healthy, the shaky and injured mess in front of him would be impossible to reason with. "Williams, the truck you just broke into is _mine_ … McGarrett is currently at home, probably catching on some beauty sleep, since he sure as hell needs it." He noticed Danny glancing at his truck in surprise, but as expected, Williams didn't make any move to lower the gun.

"Now," Grover continued, "I'm guessing you're not really open to giving me back my backup…" He said, nodding in the direction of the gun in Danny's hand. "And I don't suppose you'll accept any other suggestions until you manage to get in touch with Steve, so why don't I take my phone out of my pocket and we get his ass over here to sort this out?" He finished, taking his phone out of his pocket and showing it to Danny.

Danny nodded quickly. "Yeah… You do that… Make the call and give it to me…" He said, taking his left hand off the gun and extending it to get Grover's phone.

With a tired sigh, Lou dialed Steve's number and passed the phone to Danny. "There you go…" He muttered, surprised at how quickly Danny took the phone. He frowned at the sight of the other man's hand. Danny's wrist looked raw and bloody, and his thumb looked swollen, but before he could ask about it, Danny was taking the phone and talking at 100 miles per hour.

* * *

Steve was sitting on his Lanai, having a beer and just relaxing after a long couple of days. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he actually missed Danny right now. After wrapping up a case like this, they would usually hang out at Steve's, have a couple of beers and just wind down, but Danny had requested some time off; Clara was celebrating her third sixtieth birthday or something like that and Danny had jumped at the chance to get out of town, since Rachel was in town and would have Grace for the next few weeks, so Steve had signed the vacation request and wished him a safe trip.

At the sound of his phone, Steve chuckled to himself on seeing Grover's name on his screen. He wondered for a second if the other man was still at the office and was planning to ask him exactly that when he answered the call. "Please don't tell me you're still at the office!" He said, but before he could finish talking he was surprised by an unexpected voice.

" _Steve! You need to get to Rachel's! They're going to take Grace!"_ Danny blurted desperately.

Steve frowned, jumping to his feet and gathering his things before he even realized it. He looked at the screen again, but Grover's number was still on his screen. "Danny? What the hell? Where are you? What's going on?" He asked, having picked up his badge and gun while he moved toward his truck.

Danny wasn't really listening, he just kept screaming into the phone. _"Steve! You've gotta go get Grace! Please, don't let them take her!"_ He asked desperately.

Steve got in his truck, and sped off towards the Edwards' home, wondering what the hell had happened to his partner. "Danny, calm down. I'm on my way, ok? I got it… Are you there with Lou? Can I talk to him?" He asked, hoping to get some sort of explanation from the other man.

He could hear some hushed conversation, and then what sounded like ambient noise. _"Steve? You're on speaker."_ He heard Lou's voice, and he sounded pretty annoyed.

"Hey Lou, how're you doing over there?" He asked, hoping that Lou would get what Steve really wanted to know.

He could hear Lou snorting. _"Oh, I'm just peachy! I stay at work late to finish the paperwork for this_ _ **bloody mess**_ _of a case and when I finally manage to go home, I find Williams breaking into my truck and rummaging through my glove compartment!"_ He grumbled in annoyance.

Steve sighed worriedly. He had sent a text to Chin, asking to meet him and Kono a few blocks away from Rachel's, and Chin had just replied that they were on the way, so he turned his attention back to Danny and Lou. "Ok guys… I'll be at Rachel's in a minute. Danny, do you have any idea how many guys we're talking about?" He asked.

" _There were two gorillas that were just hired muscle and a guy in a suit, he's the one calling the shots and he's one heartless son of a bitch… You can't let him get anywhere near Grace, babe… You just can't!"_ Danny pleaded desperately.

Steve nodded, not really caring that Danny couldn't see him right now. "I won't Danno… I've got it, ok? Now, can you guys hang tight for a while?"

Lou snorted again. _"Unless the stubborn mule you have as a partner passes out or sees some sense, I don't think we're going anywhere… Let's just say that I'm his_ _ **captive audience**_ _right now…"_ He said, sounding increasingly annoyed.

Steve's eyes widened in realization, which was confirmed by Danny's annoyed muttering coming from the phone. "Danno, are you pointing a weapon at Lou right now?" He asked chidingly.

It took a few seconds before Danny replied. _"Maybe? He had your truck, and he started yelling… I just wasn't sure if I could trust him…"_ He said, sounding insecure.

Steve breathed a tired sigh. "Danno… Put it down, you know we can trust Lou…" He said pleadingly.

" _You sure?"_ Was Danny's hesitant reply.

"Yeah Danno, I'm positive…" Steve replied, hoping that Danny would listen to him.

It took a couple of seconds, but finally Steve could hear both Danny and Lou. _"I'm sorry, man…"_

" _Thank you, Williams… And for the record, that's my truck! Ok Steve, we're clear."_

Steve breathed a relieved sigh. "Ok guys, I'm gonna call EMS so they can take a look at you Danno, and as soon as we're done here I'll get back to you, ok?" He said, having reached the meeting point where Chin was already waiting.

" _What?! No, I don't need anyone to 'take a look at me' and I'm not going anywhere until I know Grace is safe!"_ Danny said indignantly.

Steve passed a tired hand down his face. "Alright, Danno… I'll take care of things on this end and I'll get back to you as soon as I can, ok? Don't worry about it, we'll keep Gracie safe, alright?" He said, not really in the mood to have an argument with Danny right now.

" _Yeah, ok… Just call me back soon, ok?"_ Danny said shakily.

"Will do, buddy… Ok, talk to you guys in a little while." He said, before cutting the call.

* * *

As soon as the call was cut, Danny slumped against the side of the truck, sliding to sit on the floor and staring at the phone still cradled in his hands. In Lou's opinion he looked even worse than before, now that the light from the screen highlighted the bruises and scrapes on his face. "Hey, you sure you don't want me to call EMS? You look like hell man…" Lou asked worriedly.

Danny shook his head quickly, not even bothering to look up at Lou. "I'm not going anywhere till I hear from Grace…" He said in a non nonsense tone.

Lou sighed, moving closer to Danny, keeping an eye on the other man. He frowned when he noticed the soft tremors wracking the blonde's body, moving to pick a blanket from the back seat of the truck and carefully wrapped it over Danny's shoulders. "Hey… It'll be ok man… McGarrett's got it covered…" He said gently, moving to sit next to Danny and patting his knee in comfort.

Danny shook his head again, lowering it to pass a trembling hand down his face. "No… I keep doing this to her…" He said shakily.

Lou gave him a surprised look. "You're not really saying that whatever this guy is planning is in any way your fault…"

Danny lifted bloodshot eyes to look at Lou. "I keep putting her in danger… This wouldn't be happening if I wasn't around…" He said softly.

Lou frowned, leaning forward to catch Danny's eyes. "Hey, you know that's not true! You're a good father and your kid would be heartbroken if she didn't have you around!" He said decisively. "Now I know what it feels like to have someone going after your girl because of your work, but you can't blame yourself for it… Blame the bastard that's threatening your girl, and make sure that he stays behind bars for the rest of his life…" He stopped to study Danny, but it really didn't look like Danny was buying it.

Trying to keep Danny's mind away from all the 'what ifs', Lou tried to change the subject. "So… You wanna tell me who are these guys, and more important, how come you're not at Jersey right now?"

Danny burrowed deeper into the blanket, unconsciously leaning against Grover's larger frame. "They… They're after my brother…" Danny muttered quietly, not looking at Lou. He could feel Lou tensing next to him, but didn't give him the chance to interrupt before he continued talking. "It's not really my mom's birthday… A week ago I got a call from a guy saying that he had information about Matt's whereabouts. He told me to meet him in Chicago, he sent an address and demanded that I didn't tell anyone about it…" He said, finally turning to look at Lou. "I set up an automatic email that would be sent in two weeks, telling Steve everything, but I had to go… It's my little brother…" He said, trying to get Lou to understand.

"You didn't even got to the plane before they caught you, did you?" Lou asked, raising his eyebrows.

Danny shook his head, not looking at Lou. "No, they caught me at the airport's parking lot."

Lou didn't need to ask to know that they hadn't been kind to Danny. Still, he needed to know what they were dealing with, and if he should be calling a bus regardless of Danny's wishes. "So, what's the damage? What did they do?"

Danny started to shrug, but thought better of it. "Nothing too bad. They knocked me around a bit, gave me couple of electrical burns…" He said softly, unconsciously pulling the blanket closer around him. He frowned at the wounds on his right wrist. "These I made them myself… And after they took off to Rachel's place I tried dislocating my thumb, but I think I broke it…" He said, not being able to suppress a shiver. "I can't believe I'm doing this to Grace again…" He muttered to himself.

Lou could hear him perfectly, and didn't like anything of what he'd just heard. "Hey, what the hell are you talking about? Last I heard all of this crap is happening because your brother messed up and is dragging you into it… You're not doing anything more than trying to deal with it as best as you can!"

Danny just shook his head dejectedly. "This wouldn't be happening if I wasn't a cop…"

Before he could continue, Grover interrupted him. "Right, because if you weren't a cop, and a tough one at that, you wouldn't be alive right now… And they would be picking someone else in your family to mess with…" He told him with an annoyed glare.

Danny looked up at him in shock, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he could find something to say. "I never thought that I'd say this to anyone, but you're actually worse than Steve at the mammal to mammal interaction…"

Lou shrugged, unaffected. "Doesn't mean I'm wrong, does it? Your brother messed up big time, dragging you all along for the ride, and he would have done that regardless of your line of work!" Since Danny wasn't contradicting him, he kept talking. "Now, you never told me what actually happened with that asshole and your girl, so I can't really say if that one was your fault or not…" He said, hoping to get Danny talking again.

Danny shook his head, leaning more heavily against Grover's side. He was convinced that this was his fault, that he kept causing bad things to happen around him so he needed to explain it to Grover so he could understand. "The asshole was my training officer. He started stealing drugs and money from crime scenes, and when he got caught I had to testify against him… He got 10 years in jail, and once he was done he came over and started following me and my ex." He said, lost in his memories.

"He must have been traveling back and forth from Jersey to Hawaii for a good couple of months until a buddy of mine spotted him in a plane. He was a Marshall and was escorting a prisoner to Hawaii when he ran into the asshole in the plane…" Danny said, looking down at his hands.

Lou frowned. "What do you mean he _was_ a Marshall?"

Danny lifted his eyes to look at Lou. "The asshole found him in the bathroom of the plane, trying to warn me… He slit his throat… He didn't manage to get the call out…" He said sorrowfully. Before Grover could ask anything, Danny kept talking. "I think he knew we would be able to track him down, so he moved his plan along… He went to the club where Grace had her tennis lesson, he had stolen a cop's uniform, and he made up some excuse about me being hurt, and that he needed to take Grace to the hospital. The asshole took her with him and gave me a call using Grace's cell phone… He wanted to meet me. He wanted me to kill my ex's husband… he probably would have made me kill Rachel as well, but the team caught up to us just when I was shooting Stan in the shoulder." Danny said dispassionately, not looking at Lou.

Lou was surprised. He would have expected the asshole to ask for money, but never something so personal. "He really hated you, didn't he? And how did you get your girl back?" He asked, not believing that the asshole would have given the information that easily.

Danny sighed, passing a shaking hand down his face. "Chin an Kono had him cuffed, so I shot him on the kneecap and then I threatened to put a bullet in his brain if he didn't tell me where Grace was…" He stopped suddenly and sat up straighter, turning to look at Lou, knowing that he'd just confessed to shooting a suspect in custody, more like torturing him, if he was honest to himself.

Lou looked surprised as well and it took him a couple of seconds to recover. "So the guy ran off and you had to shoot him on the kneecap? I'm glad he agreed to tell you where he had your girl after that…" He said, deadpan.

Danny blinked a couple of times, trying to confirm that Lou had actually said what he'd said. Once he saw Lou's expression he released the breath he was holding, leaning back again. "Yeah… me too…" He said with a tired smile.

Lou shook his head in amusement. This team was still full of surprises. "So, unless you left out some important part of the story, the only one to blame for your girl being taken is the asshole… Isn't he? Or did you make him steal those things or had any responsibility in any of the messed up decisions he made after that?" He asked, looking closely at Danny.

Danny frowned. "I testified against him…" He said, as if it justified everything that had happened

"And if you hadn't you would have been an accomplice, wouldn't you? Besides, he could have done his time and moved on. Instead he chose to keep a grudge… He's the one that's fucked up in the head; you and your daughter just got caught in the middle…" Lou said, patting Danny's back in comfort.

Danny didn't think he deserved the comfort, but he knew he wouldn't convince Lou so easily, so he just sighed tiredly. "What about your girl? Is she ok now?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

Lou smiled sadly. "She's doing better every day. She'll be just fine, just like your Grace will be, you'll see…" He said, squeezing Danny's shoulder.

* * *

They sat like that for about 20 minutes, waiting for news from Steve. Danny kept leaning heavily against Lou's side and he was tempted to just ignore the shorter man and call an ambulance, but before he could make up his mind, his phone started ringing. He saw Steve's name on the screen and answered the call, moving the phone away from Danny. "McGarrett, tell me you have good news…" He said, still batting away Danny's hand, to the shorter man's annoyance.

" _Lou? We've got things under control. Put me on speaker before Danny goes crazy, would you?"_ He asked, sounding a little winded, but not unhappy.

Lou pressed the button and they both could hear Steve on the other side. "Alright Steve, you're on speaker…"

Before Steve could say anything, Danny was talking. "Steve, where's Grace? Is she ok? Please tell me you got to her on time!" He said, still trying to take the phone from Lou.

" _Danny, Danno, listen to me! She's ok… She's completely safe! We got all of them out of the house before anything happened. They're at my place with Kono, Duke and a couple of uniforms. We waited here for the guys to show up and we got them… We're just taking them to HQ to question them and make sure that we got all of them, ok?"_ Steve said quickly, knowing that Danny wasn't in any mood for chit chat.

Danny blinked at the phone a couple of times before he could find something to say. "She's safe? You really caught them?" He said shakily.

" _Yeah Danno, she was actually excited about spending the night at my place… She's perfectly safe and we have them. We just have to put the last nail on their coffins, but we're good… And Grace is safe, she's perfectly safe, Danny…"_ Steve said, trying to convince his partner.

Danny was glad that Lou was still holding the phone, because he wasn't sure he would have held on to it after the good news. He drew a shaky breath as everything moved dizzily around him and felt Lou shaking his shoulder. "Thanks babe… Thank you…" He said in a choked up voice.

He could hear Lou cursing and felt himself being lowered to lie flat on the ground. He opened his eyes to see Lou hovering over him. "Steve, if you haven't called a bus already, this would be a good time to do it…" Lou muttered while pressing his fingers to the side of Danny's neck.

Steve's voice was still coming from the phone. _"Damn it Danno… Chin called it before I called you guys, it should be there in 3 or 4 minutes… Danny, you still there?"_

"He's still here, but it doesn't look like he's tracking very well." Lou said before Danny felt a big hand on his face, slapping his cheek gently. "Williams, you still with us?"

Danny blinked up at him, looking around confusedly. "Grace? Steve said she's safe? I didn't dream that, did I?" He asked.

Lou shook his head. "She's fine Danny, you didn't dream it…" He said, holding on to Danny's arm, one of the few places that seemed unharmed.

Danny still looked confused, looking around as if searching for something. "What's goin' on? Ever'thin hurts… Where did Steve go? He was here, wasn't he?"

Lou lifted his eyebrows, not liking how confused Danny was. "He's on the phone… You're hurt and a bus is coming over to take you to the hospital. Everything else is fine…" He said worriedly.

Danny frowned, still looking around. "Steve? Where's Grace? Monkey?" He asked, trying to sit up.

While Lou was trying to keep him down, Steve tried to calm down his friend from the other side of the line. _"Danno, it's ok… I'm taking care of some things and I'll come see you as soon as I can, ok? Gracie is just fine, she's probably sleeping right now. What you need to do is go to the hospital now, ok? A bus is going to pick you up and you have to let them take care of you, so you can see Grace tomorrow, ok?"_ The sound of the ambulance could be heard now, and Steve needed to make sure that Danny wouldn't be alone. _"Lou?"_

Before he could even ask, Lou was talking. "I won't leave his side, McGarrett. I'll be his big black shadow, and if anyone says otherwise, then I'll be his protection detail… Not leaving him…" He said decisively.

" _Ok, keep me posted… See you guys later…"_ Steve said before he cut the call.

* * *

Danny was still confused and frightened, so Lou did his best to keep him calm, explaining to him that the paramedics were getting him ready to transport him to the hospital, and that there was nothing to worry about right now.

The paramedics set up an IV, pushed in some fluids and pain meds and immobilized Danny's left arm and his bad knee. Danny meanwhile was hanging on to Lou's hand with a death grip, needing something to ground him in all the craziness going around him. The pain meds were making things even worse, making everything move around dizzily. He knew he wouldn't be able to fight them anymore, and as usual his thoughts went to is Monkey. "Lou? Tell… Tell Grace that I love her?" He asked softly.

Lou chuckled under his breath. "Sorry Williams, but I'm no messenger… You'll have to tell her yourself once you feel better, so just let them do whatever they want so you can see her soon…" He said, lifting an eyebrow. He saw Danny could barely keep his eyes opened, so he took pity on him. "Get some rest man… We'll make sure that your girl doesn't worry about you too much…" He said, patting his hand in comfort.

Danny didn't have much of a choice, so he just closed his eyes, not fighting the darkness anymore.

* * *

The next time Danny was aware of his surroundings he was lying on something soft. He was warm and he felt a dull pain, but couldn't really figure where it came from. His right leg was wrapped from thigh to ankle in something hard and big and his chest was wrapped in something tight. He tried to move his left hand to check what it was, but he found that his arm was stuck as well. He tried with his other arm, thankful that he could move it, but the feeling of something wrapped around his wrist made him remember that he'd been cuffed to a chair, that they wanted to know where Matt was and that they were going to take Grace.

His head felt funny, and his hand was stupid, but he needed to move, so he clumsily tried to rip off the thing around his arm and tried to sit up, blinking to try to clear his vision.

Suddenly there were hands on him, trying to hold him down and stopping him from moving, so he started fighting, or tried to, since just lifting his good knee made everything hurt and used far too much energy.

He suddenly realized that the people holding him down were talking to him, repeating the same thing over and over again. "Danny, it's ok. Grace is safe and you're in the hospital!" The voice was familiar, but Danny couldn't blink the blurriness away and his lungs weren't working right and everything was wrong.

"Danny, stop it! You're fine! You're safe! You need to calm down, buddy…" The voice said.

Danny finally tried to listen to the advice, and managed to slower his breathing. His eyes started working much better once he managed to open them, and he could see a couple of familiar faces looming over him. "Steve?" He muttered the first name that came to mind, not sure if he was right. "Grace? Where's Grace?" He asked, knowing that she wasn't around and that she'd been in danger.

Before he could go off again, Steve squeezed his shoulder to catch his attention. "She's fine Danno… She's at home, sleeping…" He said. Danny found it strange that Steve was holding his hand, but he'd said that Grace was safe, his eyes were closing again and he was really sleepy, so he didn't care about that anymore.

* * *

Danny woke up scared and confused a few more times, but eventually he realized that he wasn't tied up, it was just a sling on his arm and a lot of bandages, and most importantly, Grace was safe. Steve had made sure that nothing happened to her and they'd taken care of the bad guys. He had no idea how many days had passed since he ran into Lou, but time had moved strangely since he'd been taken, so he figured someone would tell him what day it was eventually.

As Danny started to remain awake for longer periods of time and became more aware of his surroundings, he became aware of two things. One, Steve wasn't really looking at him when he talked to Danny. And two, for some reason Lou was still around.

Danny wanted to figure out what happened with his partner, but he knew he needed to be gentle. "Hey Steve… What's with the constipated face?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

Steve only gave him a look, not taking the bait, so Danny figured he'd really messed up this time. "So first you're not looking at me, and now you won't even talk? That's mature!" He said, raising the back of his bed to get in a better position for the argument he knew was coming.

Steve looked like he wasn't taking the bait, but he suddenly stood up from his chair in a swift move, getting on Danny's face. "Ok Danny, you want to talk? Let's talk! Why don't you start by telling me all about your trip to Jersey, huh? How's your mom doing? Did you have a nice vacation?" Steve muttered through gritted teeth.

It was Danny's turn to look away. He figured that Steve would be pissed about it, but he'd hoped he would understand. "I'm sorry babe… They didn't give me a choice, and I thought you'd get the message if something went wrong…" He said with a shrug.

Steve's expression turned thunderous. "You thought we'd get the message?! You set that up to be sent in 2 weeks! I'm not sure if you realize it, but you would have been dead in 2 weeks!" Steve all but yelled. "You say you didn't have a choice, but you did! You could have told me, we could have planned something! I would have known that they'd taken you before they beat the crap out of you!" He roared, pointing his finger in Danny's face.

Danny had shrunk in his bed, surprised at Steve's anger, and maybe a little bit frightened by it. Before Steve could carry on Lou was pulling him away from the bed. "Alright, alright. That's enough!"

Steve pulled his arm roughly, turning his anger towards Lou. "Enough? He almost got himself killed! He keeps talking about backup and trust issues and he took off without telling anyone!" He ranted, still very much pissed.

Lou rolled his eyes, unconsciously standing in a position where he was shielding Danny from any possible attack. "Right… And you're going to stand there and tell me that you wouldn't have done the exact same thing if it was your sister…" He said, matching Steve's volume and raising his eyebrows.

Steve opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, finally turning his attention back to Danny. The sight of his partner hunched up in his bed looking down at the bed covers took all the wind out of his sails. He took a deep breath and moved slowly closer, sitting on Danny's bed and nudging him in order to catch his eyes. "Yeah, I probably would have done the same…" He said sadly. "Only I'd set up the message for just a couple of days after I took off, so there was a better chance of finding a trail by the time you got it…" He said with raised eyebrows.

Danny sighed shakily. "I'm sorry… I know it was a stupid thing to do…"

Steve blew a tired chuckle, patting Danny's knee in comfort. "Ok… Your apology is noted…" He said with a smile. "Now get some more rest, so that you can be more awake when Gracie comes over tomorrow…" He said with a smile, picking up the bed controls and lowering it so Danny could lie down more comfortably.

Danny huffed in annoyance, but couldn't really fight the exhaustion. He looked at the other two men in the room, noticing that they didn't look that well rested either. "Hey guys, why don't you go home? I'll be fine here…" He said, not wanting to be a burden for his friends any more than he already had been.

Lou chuckled, shaking his head. "I have nothing better to do, man. My girls are still in Chicago, so my evening is free! Besides, I don't see McGarrett leaving until you can go as well, so I'll just hang around to keep him company, and to make sure that he gets some sleep as well" He said, sitting himself on a chair by the corner. He wasn't going to admit that he wanted to make sure that Danny was alright as well, there was no need to share that information with anyone. "Besides, I have to make sure that you get out of here in one piece… You still have to pay for the repairs to my truck!" He said as an afterthought.

Steve chuckled, but hurried to reassure Danny when he noticed his worried expression. "Hey Danno, don't worry. We'll take care of it, ok? We'll just give him the phone of your mechanic!" He said with a comforting smile.

Danny nodded, but looked at Steve with a confused expression. "But… I thought it was your truck… The only missing things were the grenades in the globe compartment…"

Lou spluttered in horror, immediately arguing that the truck was his and that he'd gotten it way before he started working with McGarrett. Danny just smiled, finally closing his eyes. He started to fall asleep to the sound of Lou's indignant response. He knew he had a lot of healing ahead of him and that he'd have to make it up to a lot of people, but still he felt immensely relieved. He wasn't alone, and that was all that mattered right now.

* * *

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this turned out to be a long one. So much that at some point I thought about doing a multi chapter thing, but since I wanted to post it before the new season started, I left it as it is.
> 
> I really wanted to go a bit deeper with the bond between Grover and Danny, specially after the season finale, so what better way than to threaten Gracie? Mwahaha.
> 
> I'd love to ear what you think of it, and in any case, thank you so much for reading!


	17. Not Entirely Ok

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! This is a Coda for the first episode of season 5, so expect some spoilers!
> 
> Enjoy!

Steve was not having a particularly good morning. He'd slept poorly, since every time he moved the wound on his leg would twinge painfully, and now he hadn't managed to make himself a decent breakfast because he kept losing his balance with the crutches, and putting any weight on his legs hurt lie a son of a bitch, so he was forced to choose between going hungry or eating some crappy cereal that Danny had left the last time he'd watched his place while Steve was in reserves training.

He was just finishing a bowl of cereal when his phone started ringing. He took it and frowned at the sight of Grace's name on the screen, since at the time she should be starting school. He took the call, listening intently in case there was anything unusual. "Hey Gracie, how are you? Is everything ok?" He asked, trying not to sound too worried.

He could hear the sound of a lot of children in the background. "Hello Uncle Steve, yeah, everything is fine, Danno just dropped me off at school… I just wanted to make sure that you were really ok…" She said in a worried voice.

Steve lifted his eyebrows, surprised at Grace's words. "Of course I'm ok, sweetheart, why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just that Danno was really worried and trying not to show it last night and this morning, and he said you were hurt, but that you were fine and out of the hospital already, so I thought that maybe you were more hurt than he said and he was worried about you?" Grace said in a rush.

Steve was surprised, and a little bit worried, since other than the awful case from the previous day there wasn't anything else for Danny to be overly concerned about. Still, he needed to reassure Grace. "Gracie, I'm sure it wasn't anything serious, don't worry about it… Did you ask him if he was ok?" He asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Grace was silent for a couple of seconds and then she sighed. "I don't know Uncle Steve. I did ask him if he was ok, and he said that he was, that everything was fine, but I'm not sure if he was telling the truth, because he was doing that squinty thing he does… Besides, he looked really, _really_ worried… And I don't even think he slept at all! This morning he was wearing the same clothes as last night, and when I got up he was looking at stuff in the computer and when he saw me, he rushed to take a shower and change…" She said worriedly.

Now Steve was really concerned, but he knew he couldn't show it to Grace. "Listen Gracie. I really don't think it's anything important. What do you think if I go to the office, talk to him, figure out what's up and try to help him so he's not as worried anymore?" He asked.

"Ok Uncle Steve. Thank you for taking care of my Danno!" Grace said, sounding much more relaxed. "Gotta go! The class is starting! Love you Uncle Steve!" She said in a rush, cutting the call.

Steve smiled at his surrogate niece, but couldn't ignore the concern for his partner. Making up his mind, he left the phone on the table, picking up the crutches to move to his room. He'd make a short visit to HQ, just to make sure that there wasn't any paperwork that needed his signature, and if he happened to run into Danny, he'd take the opportunity to make sure that everything was going alright.

* * *

Danny had taken advantage of the fact that he was alone in the office to carry on with his background check on Marco Reyes and the money Matt had supposedly taken from him. Chin, Kono and Lou were off in HPD, closing the last of the paperwork from the awful Drone case, so Danny was taking advantage of the big computer, hoping to check as many databases as he could.

He was just looking at some files when he heard a noise at the door. He looked up to find Steve struggling to open the glass doors with both hands occupied with the crutches. "What the hell are you doing here? The doctor clearly told you that you were on medical leave until he saw you again next week!" Danny said with a frown, moving to help Steve with the door.

Steve muttered a thanks to Danny and moved into the room, taking a quick look at the screens around the computer table and frowning when Danny rushed to close all the windows he had opened. "I'm not here to work… Just forgot something in my office and came to pick it up! I was kind of bored at home, and the doc said to rest, so I figured I could do it just as well here on the couch than at home…" He said with a smile. He turned his attention intentionally to the screens. "What are you working on?" He asked casually.

Danny was frowning at Steve's explanation. "You forgot something in your office? The office where we all work? Didn't it occur to you that we were perfectly capable of taking anything that you had forgotten to your place so you didn't have to go around the city playing Tiny Tim?" He said incredulously, waving his hands around. He rolled his eyes at Steve's idea of resting at the office. "Of course you figured that, because you won't jump at the chance to do anything that you're not supposed to do if you're here at the office, right?" He tensed at Steve's question, looking around to make sure that no information was up there for Steve to see. "Well, I'm just checking some old files… nothing too interesting…" Danny said, squinting up at Steve, even if there wasn't enough sun around to bother his eyes.

Steve shook his head at Danny's rant, turning to move towards his office. "Ok, since you're in such a helpful mood, why don't you help me find what I came here for and then I'll be off…" When Danny looked at the table with a worried look on his face, Steve insisted. "Unless those boring old files are not as unimportant as you said?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Danny sighed tiredly, moving to help Steve into his office. "Ok, you win. Let's find what you need so you can get out of here." He said, helping Steve to the couch.

Steve sat on the couch with a groan, playing it up a bit. "Thanks man… I need a green folder that I left in that big pile of documents. It had some papers from the insurance for the house, that I needed to sign and send to the company today…" He said, pointing to a huge pile of papers sitting on his desk. "Why don't you hand me half of the pile and you check the other half?" He asked, patting the couch right next to where he was currently sitting.

Danny shook his head in annoyance and picked up half of the papers, sitting next to Steve on the couch but looking through them himself. "Just tell me if it's one of these, you wouldn't be making yourself any favors by putting weight on your thigh…" He muttered while starting to go through the papers.

* * *

20 minutes later, Danny had gone through every paper on Steve's desk, and they still hadn't found the green folder. He put the last of the papers on a pile at his side and turned to Steve. "Are you sure that you had it here? The only other place I can think of is those ring binders you have under your desk…" He said with a shrug.

Steve shook his head. "No, those are documents from a couple of cases I was working on… Actually, now that I think about it, the insurance papers should be back home, on the desk in the office…" He said with a nod.

Danny looked at Steve, then at the mess he'd made of Steve's desk and then back at Steve. "You're shitting me, right?" He asked, sounding incredulous.

Steve just shrugged, looking apologetic. "Sorry man, I just remembered it…"

Danny sat back on the couch, passing both of his hands down his face with an exhausted sigh. Normally he would have ranted and raved at Steve for being so disorganized or for wasting his time, but right now he simply didn't have the energy. "Ok… Let's get you back home then…" He said, moving to help Steve out of the couch.

Steve stopped him with a hand on his arm. "No Danno. First you have to tell me what's going on with you…" He said seriously, looking directly at Danny's eyes.

Danny stood up quickly, looking away. "I've no idea what you're talking about…" He said in a rush.

Steve just shook his head. "Grace called me this morning because you have her worried, and I could tell that you look like shit from a mile away, so why don't you save us both some time, cut the crap and tell me what the hell is going on?"

Danny took a couple of steps away, then a couple of steps back and finally sat down next to Steve, holding his head between his hands. "I can't tell you…" He said softly.

Steve lifted his hand and placed it on Danny's shoulder, surprised to find he was trembling softly. "Come on Danno, whatever it is, we can deal with it! Let me help?" He said gently.

Danny lifted his face to look at Steve with bloodshot eyes. "Yesterday when I got home there was a man in my house. He knows Grace's schedule and where she goes to school. He said he was a friend of Matt, that Matt had stolen from him and that I had to get him all of that money back…" He said in a frightened voice.

Steve was expecting anything but what Danny was saying, and before he could recover from the shock, Danny was talking again. "He didn't say it in so many words, but I think he has Matt, and he said that if I wanted him back and if I wanted my family to stay as it is, then I'd have to give him back the money… He's going to check back in a week to give me more instructions…" He said, passing a nervous hand through his hair.

Steve was frowning, a thousand thoughts going through his head. "Ok, first things first. We put a protection detail on Gracie. Some guys in civilian clothing so she doesn't notice it, and we can have Kame or someone else we can trust to hang with her so she's not alone at home after school. Then we start figuring out who this asshole is and how we take him down." He said with a nod, squeezing Danny's shoulder in comfort.

Danny didn't look too convinced. "You make it sound far too easy…" He said, sounding hopeless.

"It definitely won't be easy, buddy. But we'll make it, I promise… Ok?" Steve said with a small smile. "Now tell me what you've got so far on this guy." He said seriously, intending to get right into business.

Danny drew a trembling sigh and nodded. "Ok…" He said shakily. Taking a deep breath he stood up, moving to pick up some files from his office. He was kicking himself a bit for trying to keep all of this from his partner, but knowing that he had his support and probably the whole team's as well, for the first time since he met Marco Reyes he felt that they would all be alright, because Five-0 was in charge of the case.

* * *

The End...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, for starters, I absolutely loved the episode, and the BAMF Danno gave me so many fic ideas! But then the guy showed up at Danny's place and I knew I had to write this.
> 
> I'd really love o hear what you think of it! Thanks for reading!


	18. Bringing Matt Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!
> 
> Just in case, this is a coda for 5X04, so spoilers for that episode.
> 
> It's really not a happy story, so bring your tissues and everything. Be warned!

After he shot Reyes, Danny just stood there for a minute, staring at nothing and trembling from head to toe. Steve moved closer and managed to pull him back just as he was starting to move towards the barrel. "No Danno… You don't need to see that…" He said gently, knowing just from the smell that there was nothing they could do for whoever was in there.

Danny shook his head, pushing weakly against Steve's hold. "No… Mattie… I have to help him…" He muttered faintly.

Steve shook his head as well, increasingly worried that he was not so much holding Danny back anymore, but he seemed to be holding him up instead. "No Danno… We'll take good care of him, I promise. But we need to go upstairs and we'll call someone… I'll make sure they are careful with him. I promise buddy…" He said as he pushed Danny towards the stairs.

* * *

Danny climbed the stairs numbly, looking back towards the barrel every few steps, but letting Steve take over for the moment. Once they were upstairs, Steve led Danny towards some crates and made him sit there, while he pulled out his phone and made some calls.

Steve called up a good couple of favors and an hour later a group of men in uniform showed up. They disposed of the bodies, cleaned up the scene and afterwards they would escort Steve and Danny to a safe location, from where they could fly back home.

Danny wouldn't leave the place until he could make sure that his little brother was being taken care of, so he waited until two of the guys came back from the basement with a stretcher carrying a body bag. He needed to make sure, to see if he was really gone, if it was really Matt, so he tried to get close to the body.

At his movement, one of the men holding the stretcher gave Steve a pointed look, so he moved quickly to pull Danny back again. "No Danno… Let them take him. They'll take care of him, ok?"

Danny shook his head, a couple of tears falling. "He's my little brother… I just want to make sure he's ok…" He said in a small voice.

Steve had to look away and take a second to compose himself. He led Danny back to sit again, squeezing his shoulder in comfort. "He'll be fine Danno… They'll be very careful with Matt…" He said hoarsely.

Danny looked at Steve closely, and once he found that he was telling the truth he nodded, going back to stare into the distance.

* * *

They spent the night in a small hotel in Bogota and the following morning they caught a flight back to Newark. Steve had managed to get them on a military plane that was transporting supplies and had enough room for the casket they would be transporting.

Steve kept giving Danny concerned looks. The shorter man hadn't slept a wink through the night, and probably way before that, and he hadn't eaten anything, only accepting some tea that Steve had to practically force down his throat. He just sat silently, blinking back tears from time to time and just staring at nothing.

Steve didn't really know how to help, so he just sat next to Danny, as close as he could, letting him lean on his shoulder or patting him on the knee, knowing that nothing he could say would make things better.

* * *

Once they landed, Danny refused to get off the plane until they could take Matt as well, so they both followed the cart carrying the casket down the plane's ramp. Steve wasn't surprised to see Clara and Edward Williams waiting some feet away. He'd made some calls to inform them of the sad news and to allow them entrance so they could be there when their sons came back home.

Danny on the other hand stood stock still, looking at both of his parents with a lost expression. He moved closer to them and jumped a bit when Clara pulled him into a one armed hug. Edward was looking at him with a sever expression on his face, one Danny couldn't take right then, so he looked down at his feet, pulling away from his mother's embrace. "I'm sorry Pops… 's my fault…" He said brokenly, his breath hitching.

He suddenly found himself pulled into a rough embrace, his face buried on his father's chest and his mom hugging him from the opposite side. "Oh no, no my boy… You did nothing wrong… Danny, you brought him home… You did good…" Ed said in a rough voice, rubbing Danny's back in comfort.

Danny held on to his father's shirt with everything he had, his knees buckling, choked sobs escaping his mouth. As his Father held him up, Danny finally allowed himself to break. He cried for the annoying kid he cuffed to the monkey cage in the zoo, for the man that talked him off the ledge when his marriage went to pieces and for the stupid son of a bitch that asked him to either shoot him or say goodbye while he was escaping the country with money stolen from a drug cartel. He cried for Mattie, his little brother.

* * *

He was really not sure what happened later, but somehow Danny found himself waking up in a soft bed, warm blankets wrapped around him. He opened his eyes, surprised to find himself in his sisters' old bedroom, and with Steve sitting on the other bed, reading a magazine. "This is not my room and you're not my sister…" He mumbled, looking around.

Steve sat up quickly, turning to look at Danny with a relieved smile. "Hey… Yeah… Your mom thought it would be better if you crashed here…" He said, skipping the part where Danny's old room was also Matt's. "How are you feeling?" He asked in concern, looking at Danny closely.

Danny shrugged, looking down. "Dunno… As well as can be expected I guess… But better than before I think…" He said, finally looking up. "He looked at the window, frowning at the light coming from outside. "How long was I out?" He asked.

Steve checked his watch. "I'd say about 20 hours… but you needed the rest, Danno…" He said.

Danny looked shocked, but there wasn't much he could do about it. He shook himself, trying to make up for the time lost. "What about Mattie? When is the… Have they made any arrangements?" He asked, not sure if he really wanted to know when was his brother's funeral.

Steve moved to sit next to Danny on the bed. "They are making the arrangements, but they still have to take care of some things, so there's no rush. Your dad will give you the details. Right now you need to start taking care of yourself, 'cause I don't want to have to see you keel over because you haven't eaten anything in days!" He said, standing up and offering Danny his hand to help him out of bed.

Danny accepted the help with a tired sigh, grumbling halfheartedly at Steve's mothering. He didn't even bother to change, deciding to go downstairs in just sweat pants and a shirt.

* * *

Clara was cooking something in the stove, and moved to pull Danny into a warm hug as soon as she saw him enter the kitchen. "Come on sweetheart, I'll have some breakfast ready in a sec!" She said, giving him a sad smile. Steve sat at his side, content to watch the Williams in their natural environment, even if it was in the worst of circumstances, and Ed came into the kitchen as well, sitting at Danny's opposite side, patting him on the back. "'Morning, son…"

Danny really didn't feel like eating, and things didn't feel like a regular morning at his folks' place. The next couple of days would probably be awful for all of them and he had no idea how he would recover from this, but at least now the uncertainty was over. Matt was back home, even if it wasn't how anyone had hoped it would happen, so they would have to carry on, as best as they could.

* * *

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just really, really sad. I really like Matt's character, and I always hoped that they would do something better with him.
> 
> I'd love to hear what you think of this! Thank you for reading


	19. Chronicle of a death foretold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, This is another thing I wrote, the first part after episode 5x03 and the second after 5x04. This is all in Matt's point of view, and even if I tried to gloss over the details, it's probably not a happy tale. Very short too.
> 
> Title from the book "Crónica de una muerte anunciada" from Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

He's going to die out here.

He's lost track of how many times they've punched him, in the gut and in the face, not to mention the kicks in the groin. He thinks he lost a tooth, maybe two, but it doesn't really matter anymore.

He's a coward and he doesn't want to die. They did things to him that left him blubbering like a baby, and they forced him to talk. He regrets having sent that postcard, because now that they made him talk, he screamed that Danny knew about the money. They're going after Danny and whatever happens to his brother is going to be his fault, and he hates himself for it.

He's tired of this; he wishes he could just curl up and die. It wouldn't be too hard to push these psychos into shooting him, but he's too much of a coward, and now that they went after Danny, he can't help to hope that maybe Danny will find him.

He hates himself, but he really wants his big brother to find him. He'll take the jail time, the rants, and the disappointment of his whole family… He'll take anything they throw at him, but he just wants to get out of here. He wants Danny to get him out of here.

He just wants to go home.

* * *

It's been days, they seem like years, but he's only seen the sun go up and down through some cracks on the wall a few times.

He knows he's in some kind of basement and that Reyes likes to beat him up in a big room down the hall.

He doesn't think that anyone is coming for him. Not even Reyes cares enough about him to stick around, and the guys guarding him seem to think that he's too messed up to move around, so they even leave the door unlocked.

He limps towards the door, looking from side to side, and when he sees that the hallway is clear, he makes his move.

He doesn't get farther than a couple of doors down the hall when he hears angry voices behind him. "Oye, se escapó!" "Vuelve acá, Hijueputa!"

He starts running, but doesn't get far before a wall of muscle drops him to the ground and starts kicking him anywhere they can reach. "Donde crees que vas malnacido?"

Matt has had enough, so with a desperate growl he reaches for the gun in one of the guys' hands.

They struggle for a few seconds, until a loud noise echoes in the room. Matt is pushed into the groung by the force of something hard and painful tearing through his chest and he lies there, stunned, blinking dazedly.

Above him, the guys start arguing among themselves, and one leans over him, shaking him while yelling in his face, as if that would somehow fix the hole they made on his chest.

Matt has a minute to be thankful that nothing hurts anymore before he realizes he is dying. He regrets so much in his life, and he'd always hoped to see his family again, but it's too late now.

The last thing he feels is a tear rolling down his cheek before he closes his eyes.

* * *

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I love Matt and hate so much what happened to him. I've seen people wondering how killing Reyes will affect Danny in the future, but I think what will change him more than anything is that he lost his brother, and that he was too late to help him.
> 
> I'd love to hear what you think of this little thing. Thank you so much for reading!


	20. No more Death and no more barrels, please

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! This one is inspired by episode 5X06. It's a short one. The title was inspired in a roundabout way by the line 'No alarms and no surprises, please.' from No surprises, by Radiohead.

Once the barrel was opened and they saw the money inside, Danny had a minute to feel relief before he needed to move to the opposite side of the ship and lose what little he had eaten in the last few hours into the ocean below.

He felt more than heard Steve coming behind him and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Hey Danno, you ok?" He asked gently.

Danny looked away from Steve, wiping his mouth with his hand as best as he could. "Yeah… Fine. Between the helicopter ride and this damn ship, I guess I got a little seasick…" He said, looking at the ocean. "The barrels didn't help either…" He said with a sniff.

Steve squeezed Danny's shoulder gently, pulling him back towards the chopper. He said something into his comm., and suddenly the two uniforms that had come with them were lowering themselves from the chopper. "Ok Danno, up we go. These guys are gonna stick around and wait for the Coast Guard." He said, directing Danny to the ropes they used to lower themselves to the ship.

Danny looked up at the chopper. "Ok, it was crazy enough to practically jump from a flying deathtrap, now you want me to climb back up there like a monkey?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Steve shook his head, chuckling. He pointed at the two uniforms, who were lowering themselves to the ship using harnesses. "No climbing, Danno. They'll pull us up…" He said with a smile.

Danny shook his head, but didn't have it in his heart to start ranting. "Ok, lead the way then…" He said, motioning for Steve to go first.

* * *

Once they got to HQ, Danny headed for his office, intent on finishing the paperwork and get home. Steve, on the other hand, had other ideas. "Hey, man… I just have to start the extradition paperwork for Farrow and then we con get some beers? Maybe throw some steaks on the grill?" He asked.

Danny shook his head with a tired smile. "Thanks babe, but I'm still on Jersey time I guess. I just wanna go home and crash, you know?"

Steve nodded, not looking happy. "Ok… But tomorrow you can come over to the house, Elli and I are gonna try to do some fishing from the shore… Less risk of finding a shark!" He said, hoping to convince his friend to come over as well.

Danny shook his head again. "Sorry man, but I wanna stay away from killing things in my sare time for now… Besides, I've been away for more than a week, so there must be a ton of paperwork to take care of. I'll just hang here and take care of it. Let me know if you catch something good and we can eat it for dinner…" He said with a smile that sadly didn't reach his eyes.

Steve sighed, disappointed. "Alright, but if you don't show up at my place for dinner, I'll come find you and drag you there myself, we clear?"

Danny nodded, knowing that his partner wouldn't let him isolate himself for too long. "Yeah, crystal clear, partner." He said with a smile. His friend understood that he needed some time, but he knew he'd be at his side every step of the way, jumping off every chopper and opening every barrel that crossed their path, and he was incredibly grateful for it.

* * *

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm not sure if I liked the episode. I know I loved the first scene with Steve and Danny, and I loved how Scott showed Danny's grief in a subtle way, making him more subdued about everything that was happening around him. What I missed for once was the rest of the team being there to support him, and I couldn't understand why Steve would be having such a good time fishing while Danny was grieving, and in the office, so that's why this came up.
> 
> I'd love to hear what you think, thank you very much for reading!


	21. A Work in Progress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is a Coda for 5x07, so it has plenty of spoilers for that episode.

**A work in progress**

* * *

Once they got Steve out of the building, they rushed him to the hospital. The fact that Steve didn't try to convince anyone that he was fine was most worrying to his team, which was one of the reasons why Danny refused to leave his side while the doctors made a bunch of tests, stuck a bunch of needles and took enough X rays and Scans to leave Steve glowing in the dark.

In the end the verdict was that Steve had been dosed with a cocktail of barbiturates that were already wearing off his system, a grade III concussion from the graze on his forehead, and a long list of bruises and cracked bones. Their biggest concern was Steve's lungs, which was why they were keeping him in the hospital for at least a 72 hours.

It took them a couple of hours, but they finally moved Steve to a private room. Steve had an oxygen mask, to help with his breathing, and an IV on his hand, which had taken quite a bit of convincing, both from the doctor and Danny's part.

* * *

Danny was still at his side, sitting quietly and watching as his partner finally lost the battle with exhaustion. After spending the whole day fighting the images of closed barrels and bloodied floors, and the terror that the sight of Steve's unmoving body lying on the floor brought him, Danny needed to make sure that his friend was still breathing, that he hadn't lost another brother so soon, so he sat on an uncomfortable chair and gently placed his hand over his partner's, trying to convince himself that he was alive and well, and with time he would heal.

Steve was sleeping peacefully, and Danny was glad for it, because soon enough the nurses would come to make another concussion check, or to take his BP or temperature. He would wake up confused and frightened and wouldn't admit any of it, and Danny hated every second of that badly performed act.

Danny lost track of time, his only focus was his partner, and making sure that he was as well as he could be under the circumstances.

* * *

The arrival of Chin, Kono and Lou distracted Danny from his musings. "Hey Danny, how's he doing?" Chin asked quietly, moving to Danny's side by Steve's bed.

Danny shrugged tiredly. "He's gonna be ok… He was drugged, beaten and… He had… He had water in his lungs…"He said shakily. "But he's going to be ok, they're keeping him on oxygen and giving him stuff to help clear the crap they gave him…" Danny said in what he hoped was a steady voice.

Chin didn't say anything, just placed his hand on Danny's shoulder, squeezing in comfort. Kono and Lou were looking at Steve in concern.

Danny was barely holding himself together by a thread, so Chin's kind gesture, while appreciated, was the last thing he needed right then. He stumbled to his feet, moving towards the foot of the bed and looked at the rest of his team. "So, are you done clearing the scene? Do we know who the woman was?" He asked, hoping to forestall any questions about his own wellbeing.

Chin and Kono exchanged a look, and Lou just raised his eyebrow. "Her name was Anna Ihejirika, AKA _Eris_. She's made a business out of getting people to spill their secrets, by any means necessary…" Kono said, pursing her lips in disgust. "Charlie and Max are on site, packing up everything for evidence." She finished, trying to reassure Danny that they had everything under control.

Danny nodded, only half of his attention on Kono and the other half on Steve and the clock hanging from the wall. He hadn't noticed what time it was, but it looked like it was about time for one of Steve's concussion checks, and while Steve hadn't even twitched during the last couple of hours and didn't look in any kind of discomfort, Danny really needed the reassurance that he was going to be ok.

Fortunately the doctor chose just that moment to come into the room, looking a bit surprised at the number of visitors. "Hello, I'm doctor Gamgee, and I'm in charge of Commander McGarrett's treatment." The doctor introduced herself to the newcomers with a gentle smile. "I'm not going to ask you to leave the room, but I need my patient to be calm, so I need you guys to help me do my job, ok?" She asked the other four people in the room in a no nonsense tone. At the four acquiescing nods, she finally moved towards Steve bed. "Commander McGarrett? Steve?" She said gently, not reaching out to touch him.

The only evidence of Steve hearing her was a small twitch of his eyebrow, but before the doctor tried again, Danny came closer and patted him on the leg. "Babe, it's ok… You're in the hospital…" He said softly, having noticed that Steve was actually awake, but trying to figure out his surroundings.

Steve opened his eyes, looking closely at the doctor and then turning his eyes to look at the other occupants of the room. "Yeah, I'm up…" He croaked, raising his hand to remove the oxygen mask and looking back at the doctor. "I remember the last time I was awake, and the questions you asked. I can answer them again if you'd like…" He said softly, trying not to cough.

Danny stuck a spoon with ice chips near Steve's mouth, so he grudgingly accepted them giving Danny a grateful look. The mere thought of drinking water right now was not really pleasant, and of course that Danny would catch it.

Doctor Gamgee seemed to notice as well, but thankfully didn't make any comments. "I'm glad that you seem to have no issues with your memory, Commander, but I still have to make a short neuro exam, just in case, and I'd like to take a look at your lungs as well…" She said, waiting for Steve to give his consent, not wanting to force him to endure anything he didn't want to.

Steve looked at the doctor closely, finally nodding in agreement.

The doctor did a quick examination, smiling encouragingly once she was done. "Alright, Steve. Your lungs are sounding a bit better and you passed the neuro exam with flying colors. You can go back to sleep now, and I'll instruct the nursing staff not to bother you for at least 4 hours." She said with a smile.

Steve nodded, not looking as cheerful as his doctor was. "When can I get out of here?" He asked, hoping that it wouldn't be too long before he could go home.

The doctor smiled in understanding. "Considering the concussion, the drugs you were exposed to and the water in your lungs, I should keep you in here for at least three days, but I understand that is the last thing you want." She said before Steve could start protesting. "So I'm willing to shorten that to 48 hours, if you keep improving as you have so far. But I need you to rest and behave like a good patient. Can I trust you to do that?" She asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Steve nodded tiredly, not really feeling up to arguing right then. "Sure doc…"

The doctor didn't look too convinced, but let Steve be for now. "Alright, I'm instructing the nursing staff to change the mask for a nasal cannula and to keep the antibiotics and pain meds. Any dizziness or nausea?" She asked, writing down her instructions on the chart on her hands.

Steve shook his head, leaning back to close his eyes tiredly.

Doctor Gamgee nodded, finally moving towards the door. "Very well, get some rest, Commander. Ant the rest of you, he's doing fine. Try to get some rest yourselves…" She said with a smile before leaving the room.

* * *

Once the doctor was out of the room, Danny moved closer to the bed, resuming his previous seat. "How're you doing, babe?" He asked Steve, relieved at seeing his partner looking more alert.

Steve shrugged one shoulder. "I'm fine Danno…" He said automatically. He frowned a bit when he took a good look at his partner. "Are _you_ ok?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Danny tensed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm ok, you're the one we should be worrying about…" He said, not really looking at his partner.

Steve chuckled, lifting his hand to brace his ribs. "Well, you look like shit…"

Danny turned to glare at Steve. "Right back at ya, partner…" He growled, standing up in somewhat steady feet and moving towards the foot of the bed.

Chin was about to intervene, but was stopped by the arrival of a nurse. "I'm sorry, but it's been a couple of hours since visiting hours have been over, so I ask you to let Commander McGarrett rest, you can come back tomorrow, visiting hours start at 9 AM." She said, directing them all towards the door.

Lou nodded in understanding, moving to shake Steve's hand and towards the door. Chin and Kono on the other hand, didn't look that convinced about leaving, while Danny had no intention of leaving Steve by himself. He took a step forward, glaring at the nurse. "Well, good thing we have no plans to disturb Commander McGarrett's rest… We're just going to sit here quietly and keep an eye on the man…" He said with a tight smile.

The nurse looked quite unimpressed. "I'm sorry, sir, but you'll need to leave." She said seriously.

Steve was about to say something, but Danny just steamrolled over him. "No, you? Shut up." He snapped, pointing a finger at Steve. He continued, turning to look at the nurse again. "I'm his medical proxy, if something happens I have to be here, and these two? They are his protective detail! He was kidnapped and hurt, so we're not leaving him alone!" He said loudly, pointing at Chin and Kono. "Hell, I'll even leave Grover watching the door!" He said, motioning to said door.

The nurse was giving Danny a strange look, but was not backing down. "The doctor instructed us to make sure that he rested undisturbed, so if you are not willing to leave, then I'll be forced to call security!" She said, before moving out of the room.

Danny stood there, looking at the door for a minute, just now noticing that his hands were shaking nd he was breathing heavily. He heard Chin coming closer. "Hey Danny. Maybe you should go home, get some rest? We'll look after Steve, won't take our eyes off him…" He said gently.

Danny whirled around, intent on screaming at Chin exactly what he thought of his idea, but when he looked at his and Kono's face he realized that they were as worried as he was about Steve, and now to make things worse, he was throwing a ridiculous tantrum. "No Chin, I'm fine… I… I'm sorry…" He said shakily, turning to look at Steve.

Steve was sitting up in bed, looking hurt, exhausted, and worst of all, scared. Danny lifted his hands in a placating gesture, shaking his head helplessly. "Hey… Steve… I'm sorry. Everything is alright, ok? Just lie down, don't worry, please?"

It was obvious that Danny wasn't convincing anyone in the room. He had tried to hold it in as much as he could, but as usual things didn't work as he hoped they would, and now he was making everything worse for Steve.

Suddenly an overwhelming need to escape hit him, so with a mumbled apology Danny rushed out of the room, ignoring his team's concerned calls and the confused look Lou gave him when he saw him hurrying down the hallway. He never noticed that he'd bumped against Steve's doctor on his way out either.

* * *

The elevator was not an option, and Danny wasn't sure he'd manage the stairs without taking a header down them, so he moved to a couple of chairs that were at the end of a quiet hallway.

He sat there with his head on his hands, trying to slow down his breathing and get himself together somehow. He choked on a sob, silently berating himself for being such a wuss while his partner and his team needed him.

He felt someone bumping into his side and looked up to see Lou sitting there, giving him an understanding look. Danny cleared his throat, scrubbing a hand roughly down his face. "I'm fine. You can go back to Steve's room; I just need a minute…" He said in a hoarse voice.

Lou shook his head, looking unimpressed. "Yeah… I can't really do that." He said, raising an eyebrow. "You see, a couple of months ago, when I was losing my shit after a bastard took my daughter, there was someone who had my back and helped me get my head back on track. I'm not about to let that person alone now…" He said, lifting a big hand and placing it on Danny's shoulder.

Danny leaned a bit against Lou's side, lifting his hand to cover his eyes. "This is ridiculous. Steve is safe, he's healing… There's no reason for me to be freaking out like this…" He said in a voice filled with tears.

Lou just chuckled at his side. "Yeah, you're right. It's not like something really bad happened just a couple of weeks ago, right?"He said with a sad sigh. "Give yourself a break, man… You're only human, and Steve gets that…" He finished, not moving his hand from Danny's shoulder.

Danny still tried to get himself together, knowing that Lou was probably right, but feeling like it was his responsibility to be strong for Steve. He had been somewhat successful when the sound of approaching footsteps made him look up. He frowned when he saw Doctor Gamgee coming their way. "What's going on? Is Steve ok?" He asked, scrubbing his hand down his face quickly and trying to fix his hair distractedly.

The doctor gave Danny a small smile, crouching in front of him. "He's doing alright, but he won't rest until he's sure I've examined another patient." She said, giving Danny a pointed look.

Before Danny could protest, Lou clapped him roughly in the back. "I think that's an excellent idea! Especially if it'll help to settle Steve, right?" He said, giving Danny a big smile.

Danny gave Lou an annoyed glare, turning to look at the doctor. "Listen, I appreciate the concern, but I'm perfectly fine. No need to waste your time…" He said, hoping to convince her.

Doctor Gamgee didn't look convinced at all. "Well, then there's no harm in getting a quick checkup! If you're fine then we'll just tell your partner that everything is ok and he can go back to sleep without having to worry about you…" She said with a smile. "Your partner said that you've had a rough couple of weeks. It doesn't hurt to make sure that you're doing alright, right?" She said, looking at him sympathetically.

Danny groaned and moved to stand from his chair. "Alright, but make it quick, because I don't want to leave him for too long…" He said, frowning at the appearance of an orderly with a wheelchair.

The doctor chuckled, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop Danny from standing. "Don't worry detective. I've set everything up to do the checkup in the Commander's room, and we've got this comfortable ride for you!" She said, motioning for the orderly to move closer.

Danny was too exhausted to fight at this point, so with Lou's help he stood up and moved to the wheelchair. "Ok, let's get this over with…" He muttered in annoyance.

* * *

Once they got back to Steve's room, he was still awake, waiting for them to come back. He frowned at the sight of Danny in the wheelchair. "You ok Danno?"

Danny rolled his eyes, hating that it took him some effort to get out of the chair and move to sit on the gurney placed in the space next to Steve's bed. "I'm perfectly fine…" He said in annoyance. "This is ridiculous…" He grumbled once he was sitting there.

The doctor seemed to realize that asking for Danny to put on a hospital gown wouldn't be well received, so she just settled for asking him to open his shirt and allow her to take his blood pressure and pulse. She didn't look too happy at the readings, and she looked even less happy when she took a look at his chest. "How did this happen, detective?" She asked, pointing to a painful looking bruise on Danny's side.

Once he was lying down, Danny seemed to melt into the gurney. He started having trouble to keep his eyes opened, so the doctor's question surprised him and made him jump a bit. He looked down at his chest seemingly surprised at the big bruise. "Oh… I think I caught one on the vest… I'd forgotten about it…" He said with a shrug.

The doctor just shook her head, ignoring the annoyed mutterings from the other occupants in the room. "Ok, this may hurt a bit." She said before gently pressing in the middle of the bruise, trying to evaluate if there were any breaks.

The sharp pain stole Danny's breath and made everything turn blurry all of a sudden. That was the last straw for Danny, who breathed a pained moan. A white sheen invaded his vision, quickly followed by painless darkness.

* * *

The next time Danny opened his eyes he was surprised to find himself in an actual bed, wearing a hospital gown, with an IV on his arm and what felt like bandages around his chest. He looked around and found Steve's bed, placed right next to his own, and Steve wide awake, looking at him with a worried expression on his face. "What's going on?" Danny asked confusedly, not really understanding anything.

Steve sighed tiredly. "According to the doc, apart from one broken and one cracked rib, you were a bit shocky, dehydrated and stupidly decided to replace food and sleep with coffee, so you're really close to a mild caffeine overdose, which would explain in part the 'scaredy cat' act you've been playing tonight…" He said, not sounding amused. "You were out for about half an hour. She said you'd be stuck in here until you got a full night of sleep and they could force some real food into you." He finished, shifting with a wince on his bed.

Danny looked surprised at the turn of events, but for some reason he was done freaking out about it. Maybe it had something to do with whatever they had put on his IV, not that he was complaining. He turned to look at his partner when he noticed his discomfort "You ok?" He asked in concern.

"I'm fine…" Was Steve's immediate answer. "What about you?" He shot back.

Danny looked away, shrugging. "I'm ok…" He said softly.

Danny could hear Steve sighing, and then jumped a bit at the feel of his partner's hand squeezing his hand gently. He looked at him and was surprised to see the grief on Steve's face.

"I'm not sure what they gave me. They gassed me a couple of times, and then they shot me up with something else, and since I wouldn't say what they wanted to hear, the bitch used a huge needle to shot something else right between my shoulder blades…" Steve said quietly. "I'm not sure if it was a hallucination or a dream, but I saw my dad… He was alive, and right before Hesse killed him you had shown up and rescued him…" He said with a voice filled with awe. "You were different as well, still married to Rachel and happy about living in Hawaii… You even asked me to call you Danno, because all your friends did it…" He said, with a tearful chuckle. "When you guys got there, I was so sure that Dad would be right behind you…" He said, shaking his head with a sd sniff.

Danny lifted his other hand to squeeze Steve's hand and kept it there for a minute. "Me, still married and happy about living in Hawaii? That's an awful trip, my friend…" He said, trying to lighten the mood.

Danny looked at his friend, noticing how much it had cost him to admit what had happened in that damn room and knew it was is turn now. "When we figured that you'd been taken I was sure that we'd be too late. You were dead and it was too late and I hadn't done anything when I first saw that you were not answering your phone." He said in a choked up voice. "Then we found you in that room and you were so still that I was sure you were gone. I needed you to be alive so badly, but I froze for a second, and I was sure you were dead and I was too late again…" He said roughly, wiping his tears on the bed sheet.

Steve squeezed his arm again, moving his thumb up and down in a comforting gesture. He took a deep breath, figuring that it was best to get it all out there, so they could deal with it together. "After Wo Fat's mother was killed, Doris took him in as a surrogate mother. She raised him as her own, and once the CIA called her away she left him. A few years later she met my dad and you know the rest. In the end he taunted that I wouldn't kill my brother… But he was going to kill me, and… He- He's not my brother!" He said between hitching breaths.

Danny wanted to gather his friend in his arms, but both beds had the railings up, so he settled for giving Steve's arm a good squeeze. "He's not babe… He only wanted to hurt you and he deserved no mercy…" He said shaking his head sadly. He looked down at their joined hands, needing to get one last thing out of his chest. "Babe… When you stopped to look at his body… I- I suddenly blinked and saw Reyes' body with a bullet in his head, and I thought that you were… That you were Matt, and we'd found him and were bringing him home…" He said brokenly, closing his eyes. He heard Steve muttering a pained "Oh Danno…" and felt him holding tight to his hand again.

Danny needed a minute to grieve for his little brother, but he composed himself soon enough, using the sheet again to wipe his tears. Trying to lighten the mood a bit Danny opened his eyes and looked at his friend seriously. "For the record, I'm asking the doc to shove a GPS tracker in your ass. I'm really getting tired of having to track it down after you get kidnapped." He said drily.

Steve chuckled tiredly, but the sound of a throat clearing made Danny jump again. He ignored Steve's muttering about too much coffee and looked around the room to see Kono, Chin and Lou sitting in chairs that looked much more comfortable than the ones Danny had in the first place. "I thought the point of keeping them in the same room was so they would finally get some shut eye…" Lou muttered in annoyance.

Chin just chuckled, and Kono as always had their backs. "No brah… As usual they needed to argue about something, now that it's done they can get some sleep, right?" She said, daring them to question her reasoning.

Danny groaned, shifting to get to a more comfortable position on his bed. "Alright, alright, We're sleeping…" He muttered. "How come you got comfy chairs anyway? I thought visiting hours were over and all that…" He asked them with a raised eyebrow.

Chin smiled at him, getting more comfortable on his chair. "Well, it seems that your doctor likes us better than she likes you." He said with a pleased expression on his face.

Danny just rolled his eyes, turning to look at Steve seriously. "Listen babe, I still haven't managed to go more than an hour without waking from a nightmare, so maybe I should ask them to move me to a different room?" He said quietly, with a self conscious shrug.

Steve shook his head, a long suffering look on his face. "What makes you think that I'll sleep any better tonight? If you start twitching I can give you a good kick, as long as you don't mind to give me one if I'm the one that starts twitching…" He said with a smile.

Danny seemed to consider the idea for a few seconds. "Yeah, I have no problem kicking you…" He said with a tired smile. He grew sober suddenly, looking closely at his friend. "Are you really alright?" He asked seriously.

Steve sighed tiredly. "No… Not really…" He said honestly. "You?" He asked his friend.

Danny swallowed thickly, shaking his head as well. "Nope…" He said with a shrug.

Steve patted his hand in understanding. "Get some rest, buddy. Things will be better in the morning." He said, settling more comfortably in his bed and finally closing his eyes.

Danny shifted as well, burrowing deeper into his blankets. "You too, babe… I'm glad you're in one piece…" He mumbled right before he allowed himself to fall asleep.

It was clear that they were not alright, not anywhere near. They were still a 'work in progress' sort of speak, but with time and with the help of their Ohana, they would be alright soon.

* * *

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I liked the episode, and it killed me to see Steve so vulnerable, but I kept thinking about Danny and Matt, and that it was too soon for Danny, and this came out. Let me know what you think of it!


	22. Hard to See the Christmas Lights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of a Coda to 5x09. It's kind of sad.

Danny was sitting in a corner of the room, looking at how everyone enjoyed being together and celebrated Christmas.

He was still a bit surprised at how well things turned out. Only two days ago he didn't even have a Christmas tree, and now, just a few days later, they had enjoyed a wonderful dinner (all thanks to Renee Grover's cooking talent and Chin's contacts) and were enjoying the end of a wonderful evening.

Danny had to admit that he hadn't really cared about celebrating Christmas this year. Of course he had remembered to get Grace a present, a good one at that, but other than that, the thought of all the Christmas cheer just felt like a punch in the gut.

Time had just seemed to slip by, and before he knew what hit him, it was 2 days before Christmas Day and he had no Christmas tree.

He should have known that Steve would consider his situation as a tactic mission, and while Danny was thankful for the gesture, and he loved the huge tree, he just knew that they would get caught.

The conversation he had overheard between Grace and one of her classmates made things even worse. His little girl was growing, and soon enough she wouldn't need him anymore.

What he really hadn't expected was the appearance of the whole team and their families to show up at his door on Christmas' Eve, bearing food, presents and enough cheer to make up for his sour mood from the last few weeks. Grace had been super excited, and he didn't have the heart to send them away, so that's how he found himself celebrating with his new adopted family.

He hated that Grace had noticed his mood, but no matter how hard he'd tried, he hadn't managed to convince her that everything was fine. At least she seemed to accept that he wouldn't be very cheerful for a while, still he knew she worried, so he did his best to participate in the celebration, even if his heart wasn't really on it.

* * *

The evening was coming to an end, almost everyone had gone home, wishing Danny and Grace Merry Christmas and thanking them for having them over. Grace had finally gone to bed and Danny was putting everything away and turning off the lights.

The living room was dark, only lit by the Christmas lights from the tree. Danny sat down on the couch, looking at them, needing a moment to himself and trying to blink back tears.

A tall figure moved silently into the room and sat at Danny's side, studying him quietly. "I talked to Pua. He's writing off part of the fine, and I'll take care of the rest. He also said you don't have to return the tree. I'll just go to the park and plant a new one next week…" He said softly, handing Danny a cold beer.

Danny took the beer, not really looking in Steve's direction. "That's good. I don't really have $1.200 to spare." He said quietly.

Steve was still looking at his friend. "You're not even volunteering to help me plant the thing?" He asked in mock outrage.

Danny shook his head. "You made me an unwilling accomplice. You can do the planting by yourself just fine." He said without any real heat, still looking at the tree.

Steve nodded in agreement, taking a sip of the beer on his hand. "Did you talk to your mom today?" He asked casually.

Danny blinked quickly, staring pointedly at the tree. He was silent for a minute, but finally started speaking. "No, she didn't call. Becca called though, said that Mom and Dad would spend the evening by themselves. I guess they don't really have anything to celebrate tonight…" Danny said, looking down at his hands.

Steve sighed, leaning to the side to bump his shoulder against Danny's. "It's ok to miss him, you know? We get it. Even Grace… She asked me to stick around, hang out with you, because you're sad and don't want to talk to her about it…"

Danny blinked rapidly again, swallowing before he could speak. "It's ridiculous. He hasn't been around for years now…" He said in a hoarse voice.

Steve nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but he was alive. You always hoped he would come back home someday…"

Danny looked away, sniffing quietly. He was silent for a couple of minutes, leaning a bit on Steve's shoulder.

He turned to look again at the tree, passing a hand over his eye. "I miss him…" He said quietly.

Steve lifted his arm, placing it behind Danny's back and pulling him a bit closer. "I know Danno…" He said gently.

* * *

They sat quietly like that for a few minutes until the sound of a clock around the house marked the stroke of midnight. Steve squeezed Danny's shoulder. "Merry Christmas buddy…" He said with a sad smile.

Danny just sat there, looking at the lights on the Christmas tree and trying to blink back tears.

* * *

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I'm still grieving for poor Matt, and I want to believe that Danny is as well, even if the show doesn't show it in an obvious way.
> 
> I'd like to think that this is the reason why both Kono and Grace asked Danny if he was ok, and that this is why the team spent Xmas at his place, to try to be there with him when he's less than happy, but that may just be wishful thinking.
> 
> Anyways, I'd really like to hear what you think of this! Thanks for reading!


	23. Back to the Safety of Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is inspired by Episode 5x18, so expect some spoilers.

After Joe had dropped his bomb on Steve, he took off, leaving him to try to deal with everything that happened while watching as Danny and Grace had their happy reunion.

They were sitting on the same bench where Steve had talked to Grace before, and Steve was glad for it, because Danny had barely been walking when he got off the plane, yet somehow he'd brought up the energy to practically jog to meet his daughter, and actually picked her up in his arms.

Grace seemed to be studying her father intently, cataloguing every scrape on his face and somehow knowing that there was much more hiding under his clothes. She took hold of one of his hands, asking something, and jumped to her feet at Danny's reply with an alarmed expression on her face. She turned to look at Steve, waving him to come closer quickly.

Steve rushed to her side, looking from her to Danny. "What is it, sweetheart?" He asked in concern.

Grace turned to look at him as if he was asking the most stupid question ever. "He hasn't seen a doctor or gone to the hospital… Why?" She asked incredulously.

Steve looked at Danny for guidance, but his partner really looked like crap, and he should have known better, so he ignored his attempts at reassuring Grace that he was alright. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but he only cared about seeing you…" He said with a shrug. "Now that you two saw each other maybe you can convince him to get checked out at Tripler?"

Danny tried to get a word in, but Grace ignored her father's protests and just lifted a finger to point in the direction of Steve's truck. "You're going to the hospital now, period!"

Danny had to admit that he was starting to understand the expression 'death warmed over', because that's how he had been feeling since the abrupt end to his phone conversation with Grace, what seemed like a lifetime ago. However, he was not ready to leave his precious daughter so soon after reuniting with her, so he wasn't going to let something as small as a few broken bones, and not so few bruises, get in the way between him and Grace. "Monkey… I'm fine. I just need a good night's sleep and I'll be good as new in the morning…" He said, trying to sound convincing. "Why don't you go pick up your things and we can go home? We can have dinner with Uncle Steve and watch a movie, or do whatever you want to do…" He said with a tired but genuine smile.

Grace wasn't convinced at all. "I'm not going anywhere until you don't go to the hospital and make sure that you're not more seriously injured than you think. I'm only going home with you if you have a note from a doctor saying that you're good to go home…" She said seriously.

Danny's smile fell. He knew all about the Williams' stubborn streak, and he knew there would be no convincing Grace that he was alright. With a weary sigh he moved to his feet, not protesting when Steve moved closer to lend his support. "Alright Monkey. I'll be back to pick you up soon, ok? Love you…" He said, leaning closer to place yet another kiss on his daughter's head before they started moving slowly to Steve's truck.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Danny was reclining on a gurney in Tripler's ER. He was wearing a hospital gown and a sling on his right arm, with his other hand cradling it gingerly. He had a pained frown on his face and his eyes were closed, but his posture betrayed that he was not really sleeping.

Steve was studying his friend's face with concern. Danny had refused any pain relief and Steve could see that it was taking a toll on his partner. "Hey Danno, Do you want me to call the nurse and ask her for some of the good stuff? Maybe something to help you relax a bit, so you can take a nap while we wait for the doc?" He asked gently.

Danny seemed to want to bolt out of the gurney at Steve's suggestion, and only his partner's good reflexes kept the blonde man from falling off the narrow surface. He groaned in discomfort, bracing his ribs with his good arm and opening his eyes to glare at the other man. "I said I don't want painkillers, and the last thing I want is to take a nap. I just want to get this over with so I can go home…" He said tiredly.

Steve frowned, not liking how ill and exhausted his friend looked. "Come on, buddy. You're way past exhausted! Just try to relax and get some sleep… I promise I'll wake you when the doctor comes…"

Danny shook his head quickly, running a trembling hand down his face in an attempt to brush away the exhaustion. "No… I can't…" He said helplessly. "I'll sleep when I get home…" He said tiredly.

He didn't really know how to explain how he felt, but he really just wanted to go home. "I just want to sleep in a familiar place, where I won't have to figure out where the hell I am every time I open my eyes and if I someone is out to get me…" He said, some desperation seeping into his tone.

Steve looked alarmed for a second, but before he could ask Danny about his fears, the other man spoke. "I wasn't molested, Steve. They didn't do anything too offensive, and I wasn't in there long enough for anything worse to happen. The inmates were out to get me though, but the ones that did most of the damage were the guards, when instead of making a call to ask for money I called Grace…" He said with a shrug. He was leaving out the part about the strip search and the processing in the Colombian prison. Steve really didn't need to know about it.

The doctor chose that moment to appear. "Alright Detective, apart from the badly wrenched shoulder and the cracked ribs, the scan shows some bruising in your kidneys. It doesn't require surgery at this moment, but we'll need to keep you in bed rest for a couple of days with close monitoring, so we'll be moving you to a room in a few minutes."

Before Danny could voice his protests Steve moved to the doctor's side. "Listen Doctor, Danny really needs to go home tonight, is there any way that he could do the bed rest at his own place?" He asked hopefully.

The doctor looked from Steve to Danny and then back to Steve. "He needs some meds that have to be administered by IV. Antibiotics, pain relief…"

Steve nodded, cutting the doctor off. "I could do that… I've had some training in first aid and I know how to put an IV and clean up wounds…"

The doctor looked surprised. "We also need to monitor his urine output…"

"I have an old bedpan… I can take care of it…" Steve said with another nod.

The doctor wasn't really liking how the conversation was getting out of hand. "He needs to rest…"

Before he could finish his train of thought, Steve interrupted him. "I can guarantee you that he won't get any rest if he stays here."

The doctor looked at Danny, seeing that the injured man had refused any pain medication, and was doing everything he could to avoid falling asleep, even if it looked like his body was nearly giving up on him.

With a tired sigh the doctor nodded. "Alright. I'll give you the supplies and medication so you can take him home and settle him into bed as soon as possible. But the minute he spikes a temperature or if the blood in his urine doesn't resolve itself in the next 24 hours, then you have to get him back here!" He said, waiting for Steve's agreement and moving out of the cubicle to get everything they would need.

* * *

It took some time, and some convincing on Rachel's part, but after picking up the supplies and meds they needed and stopping at Rachel's to pick up Grace, they were finally at Danny's place. Grace rushed to open the doors and get Danny's bed ready while Steve helped Danny to shuffle his way inside. He was doing his best to help, but by this time his body was finally giving up on him and he was barely able to hold his own weight.

He stopped suddenly in the middle of his driveway, "Wait…" He said in a hoarse mumble. "I… I can't do this… You have to take her back to Rachel's…"

Steve lifted his eyebrows in surprise, but kept pulling Danny in the direction of the house. "What? What are you talking about, man?" He said quietly.

As they entered the living room, Danny looked around, hearing Grace doing something in her own room. "I can't take care of her… I… Hurt too much, Steve. Don't think I can move on my own… She needs to go back to Rach's…" He said sadly, looking down at his feet.

Steve shook his head with a soft chuckle and helped Danny to finally reach his bed. Once he had the other man sitting he crouched to look him in the eye. "Danno… I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here to take care of you and to help Grace with anything she needs. Kono, Chin and Lou are coming over tomorrow morning with food, and we're not planning on leaving you guys on your own until you're feeling better…" He said gently.

Danny was exhausted and in pain, so it took him a minute to figure out what his friend was saying. "Really?" He asked in surprise.

Steve nodded with a soft chuckle. "Yeah, Danno. We got it covered. Now can we please get you into bed?"

Danny looked up at his partner. "Thank you…" He said, reaching out to squeeze his friend's hand.

* * *

Steve helped Danny into some sleeping clothes and settled him on his bed. He carefully put the IV on Danny's arm and administered the meds in the doses indicated by the doctor. After a couple of minutes, he was happy to see that the pain killers were finally working their magic and that Danny was starting to look a little less strained.

Grace chose that moment to come back into the room, wearing her PJs and bringing a book with her. She silently requested Steve's permission, and at his nod she settled gently on the bed at Danny's side. "Hey Danno, how are you feeling?" She asked, moving to give her father a gentle hug.

Danny blinked blearily in her direction and gave her a dopey grin. "Monkey… Love you so much…" He said, pulling her closer and burying his face in her hair.

Grace smiled and squeezed his dad gently. "I love you too Danno. It's ok now… I'll take care of everything. Go to sleep now…"

Danny smiled, finally closing her eyes and allowing himself to sleep. "Thank you Monkey…" He mumbled before he was out.

Grace waited a few minutes to make sure that her dad was truly sleeping and then lifted her head to look at Steve. "Uncle Steve, you can sleep in my bed. I'll take care of him now…" She said, sounding very determined.

Steve agreed with a smile. "Ok, but you come looking for me if he needs anything, ok?" He asked, moving to the door. The truth was that he was planning on checking on them throughout the night, but he would give them their space for now, knowing that Grace needed her time with her father.

Grace nodded. "I will. Promise… " She said.

"Good night, Gracie…" He said with a smile, moving out of the room.

"Good night Uncle Steve." She said quietly, settling more comfortably at her Danno's side. "Good night Danno… You're safe now…" She said, resting her head near Danny's. It was her turn to keep the bad dreams away, and she would take care of her dad as he had taken care of her so many times before. It was her turn now.

* * *

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Liked the episode, but needed a little more Danny comfort, after all, it wasn't just a tap on the head that he got.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	24. Misfiring Neurotransmitters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is some sort of Coda to 5x20, with some spoilers to 5x18.

Steve was done for the day. He had made sure to fill as much of the paperwork as he could, knowing that Lou would have a hard time dealing with the situation.

He was getting ready to go home when he noticed that Danny was still in his office. He looked like he was typing something in his computer, but for some reason Steve got the feeling that something wasn't quite right. He knocked gently on the glass door and peeked in. "Hey man, I heard you got your guy?" He asked gently, entering Danny's office.

Danny jumped a bit, turning to look at Steve. "Shit… I didn't know you were still here…" He griped. "I'm just finishing up the paperwork for Glen Hurd's Murder. Pua took care of Yeager's booking, but I have to fill some things for the D.A…" He said, turning to look at the computer.

Steve frowned, not liking the look of his partner. "Hey, Pua said that you were stuck in the elevator for a good couple of hours. I'm sure that wasn't much fun…" He asked, wanting to assess his partner's mood.

Danny looked away, lifting a trembling hand to pass it through his hair. "Yeah… It sucked… But Dr. Shaw was there, and she explained me all about the neuro-thingies that were making my Parasympha-thingies confused… So it wasn't that bad…" He said shakily, looking anywhere but in Steve's direction.

Steve's concern grew, and he reached out to place his hand on Danny's shoulder, not really liking the tremble he could feel. "Really? That's good man…" He said gently. "So you wanna tell me what's the matter then?" He asked, knowing that something was really bothering his friend.

Danny rubbed his forehead nervously, finally pinching the bridge of his nose. "They stuffed me into a 3 square feet box…" He muttered softly. "In Colombia, after I made that call, they beat the crap outta me, and I think they were afraid I would conk out if I was left in gen-pop, so they stuffed me in a tiny room with no light and no windows…" He said in a rush, moving to get up, but finding Steve blocking the way.

Steve's face furrowed in concern. He moved to steady Danny when he moved closer and ended up pulling him close. "Hey man… You're ok… You're out of there now. You know that, right?"

Danny leaned his head against Steve's shoulder, closing his eyes and trying to calm down his breathing. "Yeah…" He said shakily. "It's just taking some time for the Para-thingies to kick in, you know?"

Steve sighed sadly, lifting his arms to hold on to his partner. "Yeah, buddy… Just take all the time you need…" He said kindly. He knew that the memories from Colombia wouldn't leave so easily, but he would do everything he could to help, for as long as it took.

* * *

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed some sort of Danny-Steve interaction after the episode, so this came up. For some reason I can't bring mysefl to care that much about Lou, so there's not much Lou in here.
> 
> I'd really like to hear what you think of this short one anyways. Thanks for reading.


	25. Not Broken, Just a bit Dented

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! This one was inspired by a prompt by Irene Claire and by the crappy month I've had. Just needed some Danny comfort, and wished I had a Steve of my own I guess.
> 
> Enjoy.

* * *

The sound of his phone made Steve roll over and check his watch, frowning at the time. He reached for the annoying device on his night stand and took it, frowning again at the name on the screen. "Hey Grace. Sorry… I think I overslept… How pissed is your dad, huh?" He asked, moving to get out of bed and find some clean clothes.

"No Uncle Steve… I'm not with him. I'm at a friend's birthday party and she invited us to stay for a sleepover. I called Danno and asked him if I could… He said that it was ok, and that I he hoped I had fun but… Before he hanged up I think I heard that noise… That noise he makes when he's really upset and doesn't want people to notice?" Grace said in a concerned voice. "Uncle Steve… I think I broke him…" She finished worriedly.

Steve had foregone the idea of changing and just put on his shoes and moved downstairs, looking for his keys. "No Grace. We've just had a very long couple of weeks, I'm sure your dad is fine… I'll go check on him and keep him company, how's that sound?" He said, projecting a cheerfulness that he wasn't really feeling.

Grace breathed a relieved sigh. "Ok… But you gotta call me if he's not ok…"

Steve nodded, moving to his door, not really noticing that Grace couldn't see him. "I sure will, Gracie. I promise I'll keep you posted."

"Thank you Uncle Steve… Take care of him?" Grace said with a sigh.

Steve smiled, getting into his truck and starting the engine. "I promise, sweetheart…"

"Thank you Uncle Steve!" Grace said in relief, before cutting the call.

* * *

Steve took off, not really knowing where he was supposed to go. Last he'd heard before he got kicked out of the office, Danny, Chin and Kono would get some drinks after they closed shop, and they would let him know where they were heading. He dialed Danny's number, but it rang until it went to voicemail, so he hung up without leaving a message and tried Kono instead.

He heard the call being picked up, followed by the sound of rustling clothes. "Boss? Please tell me we don't have another case?" Said Kono, in a croaky voice.

Steve frowned. "Kono? No… Sorry. I thought you'd be with Danny? We were having drinks?" He asked, confused at the fact that Kono didn't sound like she was at a bar. She sounded like she had been sleeping.

"Danny? No… he had to stay at the office… The Governor asked him for another report I think… And I couldn't stay for drinks, 'cause Adam came back to town sooner than expected… But Chin was staying. They were heading to the Hilton I think…" She mumbled, still half asleep by the sound of her voice.

Steve sighed in concern. "Alright. Thanks… I'll call Chin. See if he knows anything." He said before cutting the call.

He dialed Chin's number next, getting a reply as sleepy as Kono's. "Steve? Hey… What do you need?" He asked.

Steve sighed again, growing more worried. "Chin. I don't suppose you're with Danny right now?"

"No… He said he still had at least an hour to go before he was done. He'd just pick Grace up and head home. Said he'd call you to let you know…" Chin said, sounding confused.

"Well, he didn't call me…" Steve said, sounding annoyed in turn. "You think he headed home?"

Chin was silent for a few seconds. "Yeah… that's what I thought he'd do. He looked exhausted… We all were, so I figured it would be better for him to head home and spend some time with Grace… I'm guessing he didn't call you?"

"No, he didn't. And he's not with Grace… She's got an unexpected sleepover at a friend's house…." Steve said worriedly.

"So you're probably heading to his place right now?" Chin asked.

"Yeah…" Steve said. "Unless you think he would head to a bar?"

"No, brah… He looked ready to drop. I doubt he'd manage to stay on his feet after one drink…" Chin said.

"Alright… I'm heading to his place…" Steve said tiredly.

"Let me know if you need anything…" Chin said.

"Will do…" Steve replied before cutting the call. Finally knowing where he was going, he turned the following corner, heading to Danny's place.

* * *

When he reached Danny's place he was relieved to see the Camaro parked outside and the lights still on. He got out of the truck and headed to the door.

He knocked twice, not getting any response, so he took out the key Danny had given him for emergencies. "Danny, it's me… don't shoot me, alright?" He said loudly, only half joking, as he entered Danny's living room.

The room was dark, with only the TV showing some hockey game. Danny was slumped on his couch with a galls of what looked like bourbon on his hand. "Wha' you doin' here? Didn't call you…" Danny mumbled, not really looking in Steve's direction.

Steve frowned, moved closer and sitting at Danny's side. "Well, maybe you didn't, but Grace did… She's worried about you. Said you sounded wrong…" He said gently.

Danny seemed surprised, but still wouldn't look at his friend. "I'm fine… You… you should tell her you came over, checked on me and found that I'm just fine… You can go now and carry on with your beauty sleep, ¿cause you sure as hell need it…" He muttered, waving his hand around.

Steve nodded in agreement. Taking out his phone and sending a text to Grace. _"I'm at your dad's. he's good, just really tired. Putting him to bed soon."_

He got a reply right away. _"Good! Thank U Uncle Steve! Tell Danno I luv'im! XOXO"_

That got smile out of Steve. "She says to tell you that she loves you, and sends lots of Xs and Os…" He said, as he placed the phone on the coffee table.

Danny just passed a tired hand through his hair, reaching to take another sip of his glass. "That's supposed to be hugs and kisses…" He muttered with a shrug. "So now that you've fulfilled your mission, you can leave, catch up on some sleep…" He said, waving his hand in the direction of the door.

Steve stood up, but instead of moving to the door, he moved to the kitchen, bringing a glass for himself. He sat down again and poured some bourbon into it. "Well, we said we'd have drinks after we were done at the office, so this is us, having drinks…" He said, lifting his glass in a toast.

Danny briefly turned to glare in Steve's direction, completely ignoring the raised glass. "Well, drinks were cancelled, Chin and Kono had some stuff to do, and the Governor needed one last stupid report and he needed it tonight, so after that I just came here…" He said with a shrug.

Steve was frowning, not liking the toll that the last case had taken on his partner. "You said you'd call… You didn't."

"Well, you were on a stakeout for almost 48 hours, you needed your beauty sleep… There was no use in calling you if there was no reason for you to wake up…" Danny said with a shrug.

Steve raised his eyebrow. "You're were on a stakeout for the 48 hours _before_ mine, you slept a couple of hours and went right back to work, and still you looked ready to head over to the Hilton for drinks once we were done at the office tonight. So I want to know what happened to make you change your mind and head back here to get drunk by yourself." Steve said, using his best interrogation voice.

Danny crossed his arms over his chest, shrugging with a tired sigh. "I don't know, ok? I hated every single thing about this damn case… We've been at it for like a month…" Danny started.

"Actually, three and a half weeks…" Steve corrected.

Danny finally turned to glare at his friend. "Oh… _excuse me_ , Mr. Calendar, three and a half weeks then…"

"That's Lieutenant Commander Calendar, Danno…" Steve interrupted again, cheeky smirk firmly in place.

Danny just rolled his eyes at his friend and kept talking. "So as I was saying, we've been working on this case for three and a half weeks, practically around the clock. The few days that Grace was with me, I barely saw her in the mornings, when I dropped her off at school, and in the evenings I found her already sleeping half of the time… I missed her like crazy, I wanted my life back, and I wanted this damn case to be over already." He said, shaking his head.

He looked away reaching to take another drink. "You know I'm not much of a 'Glass half-full' kind of guy, but I was really trying to keep in mind that the damn case would be over soon enough and we'd get together to celebrate and Grace would be there and we'd go back to our crazy lives… But then the Governor couldn't just let me go home, he needed all of this paperwork filled, and Chin and Kono had better things to do than wait for me to be done with work, and last I saw you, you looked like one of those undead zombies, so I figured I'd let you sleep until it was time for your morning triathlon and I would just spend the evening with my Monkey…"Danny said, waving the hand with the glass around and spilling some bourbon all around him. "I guess I wasn't expecting her to have better things to do as well…" He said, noticing his glass looked empty and pouring himself some more bourbon.

Steve shook his head, leaning forward to catch his friend's eyes. "Hey, that's nonsense. Gracie loves spending time with you, buddy…" He said, reaching to put his hand on Danny's shoulder.

Danny nodded, looking away to pass a tired hand down his face. "Yeah, I know… It's just… Coming here alone tonight, not having Grace or you guys over… For a while it felt like… like when I'd just moved to Hawaii. I was all alone when Grace wasn't around, and I'd work long hours, because there was nothing else waiting for me at home, so I was tired most of the time… I was homesick all the time, just wanted the nightmare to be over and to be back home with Grace and my family…" He said, shaking his head sadly. "The sad part is that now I don't even have that. My family is broken… And some part of me still feels like it's my fault." He finished in a broken voice.

Steve moved closer, pulling on Danny's shoulder until his partner finally gave in and leaned on Steve's shoulder. "You're not alone Danno. I told you so years ago… And about your family… I think they just need some time to grieve… I think maybe you do as well…" He said, running his hand up and down his friend's arm.

Danny didn't lift his head from Steve's shoulder, but Steve could feel him tensing. "You're not making me take some days off…" He grumbled.

Steve chuckled. "Fine, as long as you don't make me tell you again that Matt's death was not your fault… Maybe I should make a couple of posters, hang them at your office, your living room. Even make a little one to put in the visor pocket in the Camaro…"

Danny gave a teary chuckle. "You're an asshole…"

Steve chuckled as well. "Maybe, but you still like me…" He said, patting Danny's back.

After a few minutes, Steve shifted a bit, moving to stand and pull Danny along with him. "Alright buddy… Time to sleep…" He said.

Danny groaned, but didn't resist Steve's guidance. He was already wearing sweatpants and a shirt, so it was only a matter of getting his shoes off before he was ready to get into his bed. He looked at Steve blearily. "Thank you, babe…" He said with a tired smile. The smile fell once he took a good look at his partner. "You look like shit… Shouldn't be driving right now…"

Steve smiled, shaking his head. "Well, since you asked so nicely, maybe I'll crash on your couch…"

Danny shook his head. "Use Grace's bed, you can change the sheets tomorrow…" He mumbled, blinking tiredly.

"Alright Danno, I will. Now, get some rest, we'll go out for one of those greasy breakfasts that you like in the morning…"

Danny smiled. "Alright… Thanks Steve. You're a good friend…" He mumbled, finally closing his eyes.

Steve smiled, moving to tuck the blankets snugly over his friend. "Not better than you, buddy…" He said, before he moved to Grace's room, hoping that her bed was a little bit longer than the couch.

* * *

The end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'd love to hear what you think of this one!


	26. Like Taking a Bullet for Charlie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story has been running around my head since the season finale. It has some spoilers about 5x24 mostly, so be warned.

The procedure had gone without a hitch. Danny had been under for about an hour, the bone marrow had been extracted successfully and Charlie was resting comfortably in his hospital room after receiving the transplant.

Danny was staying overnight at the hospital, just as a precaution after the anesthesia. Charlie, on the other hand, would have to stay a couple of days, to avoid any risk of infection.

Danny had woken up to find his partner keeping him company while he was sleeping, and while he appreciated the support, his first priority was checking on Charlie. As soon as the doctor gave him the OK, Danny was out of the bed and taking a short walk.

Steve wouldn't leave his side, but no matter the company, Danny was sticking to his walk. The fact that the walk happened to end in the pediatric ward and just outside of Charlie's room was just a coincidence.

Danny knocked on the door and poked his head inside, relieved that only Rachel was in the room at the moment. She looked surprised to see Danny up and about and motioned for the two men to come inside and for Danny to sit on a chair by Charlie's bed. "Danny! You look well. How are you feeling?" She asked in concern.

Danny smiled and sat down, grateful to be off his feet, but too stubborn to admit it. "I'm good… Everything's fine." He said with a nod. "How's he doing? What did the doctor say?" He asked instead, looking in the direction of the boy sleeping peacefully on the bed.

Rachel smiled, looking at Charlie as well. "He is doing well, the doctor should stop by in a little while to discuss some tests, but he said that the procedure had gone according to plan." She said with a nod.

Danny was pleased at the news. Looking around the room, he was surprised to find someone noticeably absent. "Stan was here for the procedure, right?" He asked without thought. He would hate to hear that Stan hadn't been around to support Charlie, no matter the circumstances.

Rachel looked surprised at the question, and Danny realized that maybe the drugs still cursing through his system were making his brain-mouth filter even more nonexistent. Steve stepped closer to intervene, but Rachel shook her head, chuckling in amusement. "He's been here with Charlie all day. He just went down to the cafeteria a few minutes ago."

"Oh.. good…" Danny said, looking a bit embarrassed, but Rachel just smiled at him, turning her attention back to Charlie.

Steve chose that moment to make his exit. "Listen, I'm going to go outside to make a couple of phone calls, I'll be back in about half an hour, ok?" He said, looking at his partner. At Danny's nod, he moved out of the room.

* * *

Danny and Rachel stayed at Charlie's room, talking quietly for about 20 minutes until the doctor arrived. He checked the readings on the monitors attached to the little boy and reviewed his chart. Once he was done he turned to look at Rachel and Danny, motioning for Rachel to step outside. "Mrs. Edwards, a word please?"

Rachel turned to look between Danny and Charlie. "Danny… Would you stay with him for a moment?" She asked hesitantly.

Danny wasn't happy about being left out of the loop, but he didn't want Charlie waking up alone either, so he nodded. "Yeah, go ahead Rach." He said with a tight smile.

Once Rachel had gone, Danny moved his chair closer to Charlie's bed and settled to keep watch over his son's sleep. About 15 minutes later, Charlie started to stir. He shifted in the bed and breathed a huge yawn before blinking his eyes open and looking around the room in confusion. When his eyes settled on Danny he seemed surprised. "Danno?" He asked, quirking his eyebrows.

Danny smiled, relieved that Charlie had recognized him. "Hey buddy. How are you doing?" He asked gently.

Charlie looked around the room, his face scrunching suddenly in discomfort. "Mommy? Daddy?" He asked in a trembling voice.

Danny frowned, moving from the chair to sit at the side of Charlie's bed. "Your mom is just outside, and Stan is coming back really soon, ok? Does something hurt?" He asked in concern, reaching to press the call button to get a nurse in the room.

Charlie burrowed closer to Danny, looking for comfort. "It hurts…" He said in a wobbly voice.

Danny insisted a couple of more times with the button and gently gathered the little boy close. "Hey… Shhh… It'll pass soon, someone's coming and they're going to make it stop hurting, ok? You'll feel better in no time…" He crooned in what he hoped was a comforting voice. If it wasn't for the fact that Charlie was clinging to him for comfort, he would have gone outside and started yelling for a damn doctor already.

Charlie hid his face against Danny's chest, his small hands holding on tightly. "I want my Daddy…" He said between sniffles, not letting go of Danny.

Danny kept rubbing Charlie's back in comfort, but he couldn't make his throat work for a minute. "Shhh… I know buddy, he's coming soon. I promise" He said hoarsely when he managed to speak up.

A minute later the door opened to show Stan, Rachel and the doctor. At the sight of Stan, Charlie pushed away from Danny's arms, extending them in Stan's direction. "Daddy!" He wailed.

Stan rushed to his side, picking him up and holding him close to his chest, careful of the IV still attached to his arm. "Shhh, I know Bug, I got you…" He said.

Danny moved away from the bed as quickly as he could, turning his conflicting emotions on the doctor. "He's in pain. I've been calling for someone to come to check on him for about half an hour!" He muttered angrily, not wanting to upset Charlie more than he already was.

The doctor looked startled and moved to the door, calling a nurse. "Yes, of course… I'll give the instructions so he can get some pain relief right away."

Danny nodded, moving to the door as well. He felt like he needed to get out of there. He wasn't needed and he felt it keenly.

Rachel moved to Charlie's side as well, looking gratefully back to Danny. "Danny… Thank you…" She said quietly.

Danny nodded again. "Yeah… I'm gonna… I'm just gonna go…" He muttered not looking at anyone and left the room.

* * *

Steve had spent some time outside making some calls and then he had moved to the cafeteria, not wanting to cut short Danny's time with his son.

He was surprised not to find Danny in Charlie's room when he came back, but his surprise was nothing compared to finding a couple of nurses cleaning up Danny's room. "Oh, you're here!" One of the nurses said in surprise. "He wouldn't even wait to sign the paperwork, so he said we should give it to you, along with his medications" She said, moving back to the nurse's station and motioning for him to follow. "His doctor wasn't very happy about letting him go, but there was no convincing him…" She said with a worried expression on her face. "Now, if you would sign here and here…"

Steve signed every paper that needed signing and paid very close attention to the instructions and warnings the doctor gave him regarding Danny's care. He picked up the meds and then rushed to his truck, picking up his phone and calling Chin to help him track down his missing partner. Danny would be surprised that he had actually called him, but Steve knew that when Danny was the one acting irrationally, it was time to call for backup.

* * *

After having checked Danny's place and finding nothing, he had headed towards Danny's favorite spot on the island. He had tried Danny's phone more than 30 times before Kono had called to let him know that she had found it on a trash can outside the hospital.

Steve was about halfway to Danny's spot when Kono called again, this time with a good lead. He listened to the information, found a place to turn around and headed back to the city.

* * *

By the time Steve reached his destination the sun had already gone down. He parked a couple of rows away from where he could see a figure sitting by himself on a park bench.

Steve got out of the truck and moved silently closer to his partner. He stood at the side of the park bench, suddenly unsure. "Hey… Mind if I sit?" He asked gently.

Danny seemed surprised to see his partner, but not particularly happy about the company. He shrugged at Steve's question, not moving from his sitting position. "How'd you find me?" He asked quietly, still looking at a point on front of him.

Steve sat down and studied his friend. He frowned at the hunched over posture and the obvious signs of discomfort. "Kono talked to a taxi driver back in the hospital. He said he'd picked you up there and dropped you off here. He was worried, because you looked like you needed to be at home, resting, and you asked to go to Ala Moana Beach Park instead." He said, looking around and wondering what had brought Danny here. "What are we doing here, Danno?"

Danny leaned forward with a pained grimace, resting his elbows on his thigs. He looked at a spot to his right, lifting a hand to pass it through his hair. "This is the spot…" He said, waving his hand to point at the place. "When Rick took Grace… When he asked me to kill Stan, I got out of the car, took the gun and waited for him to come closer. He asked what was going on and I told him that a man had Grace, and that I had to kill him, or he would kill Grace…" He stopped, needing to take a breath before he could continue. "He- He just nodded, and stood there, because it was for Grace. He stood there and took a bullet for my daughter…" He said, shaking his head in wonder.

Steve lifted his hand to place it on Danny's shoulder and squeezed gently. "He loves Grace, I now he'd do anything for her…"

Danny nodded, lowering his head to bury it between his hands. "Yeah… And I love Charlie…" He said hoarsely. "He took a bullet for my daughter, and maybe that's all this whole thing should be…" He said, gesturing at himself. "Maybe this should only be me, taking a bullet for ** _his_** son…" He said, lifting his head to focus tear filled eyes on Steve and pursing his lips to keep the tears inside.

Steve immediately started to shake his head in denial. "No Danny… Charlie is your son… you need to fight to be in his life!"

Danny shook his head as well. "He already has a great father who loves him… The last thing he needs is for me to burst in his life and make a mess of everything!" He said, looking away and using the sleeve of his t shirt to wipe a traitorous tear.

Steve moved closer to his friend, placing his hand behind Danny's head and patting gently. "Danny, you would never make a mess of anything, and that whole nonsense about Charlie already having a father… It can't hurt to have a second father! I mean, just look at Mary. I know that her life wouldn't have been the same if it wasn't for Aunt Deb…"

Danny scoffed at that. "Your sister is crazy, Steven…" He said, turning a bit to glare at his partner.

Steve chuckled at that. "Yeah, she is. But can you imagine how much worse she would be if Aunt Deb hadn't been around?"

Danny leaned back in the bench to be able to glare at his partner properly. "Yeah… She could've turned out like you!" He bit out.

Steve actually laughed at that. "Yeah, probably… But she had someone that loved her when she needed it the most. And in any case, I'm not so bad now, am I? I know it could be worse… Imagine what I would be like if I hadn't had a Danno in my life!" He said with a smile. "And I'm sure Grace is as happy as she is because she also has a Danno in her life, so just think about how lucky would Charlie be if he had one as well…"

Danny blinked at Steve in surprise, caught off guard by his friend's words. "I'm not your father, Steven…" He muttered in halfhearted annoyance.

Steve smiled. "That's true, but you're still a great guy to have around…" He said with a nod. He leaned closer to look his friend in the eye. "Listen, you're probably never going to admit it, but I'm sure you're feeling like crap right now, and this is not a decision you need to make right at this moment, so why don't you give it some time, huh? Give yourself some time to feel better, and then you can decide with a clear head what you want to do, and what you think is better for Charlie and for you, ok?"

Danny leaned back and closed his eyes, lifting a hand to rub his forehead. With a tired sigh he opened his eyes. "Yeah… Ok…" He said with a nod.

Steve patted his friend's back, reaching for the phone with his other hand. "Alright, now that's settled, how do you feel about getting you home and lying down? I'm pretty sure your doc said something about you not sitting up for long periods of time, at least for the first couple of days."

Danny blew a tired sigh, getting ready to stand up. "Yeah, alright…" He said with a groan.

Before he could start to get up, Steve took a hold of his shoulder, keeping him in place. "Not so fast Buddy…" He said, before talking into the phone. "Hey Jerry… yeah, we're ready. Thanks" He said before hanging up. A minute later a blue van was pulling up right by the bench where Danny and Steve were sitting.

Danny looked surprised and finally allowed Steve to help him up. "You called Jerry?" He asked, glaring at his partner.

Steve shook his head. "No, Kono did. She took the part about you not sitting for too long really seriously…" He said with a shrug.

Danny stopped a couple of feet away from the van. "Please tell me he doesn't have a love nest in there… Who knows what I'll catch from lying there!" Danny said pleadingly.

Steve chuckled. "Don't worry, Danno… I'm sure she made sure that Jerry cleaned it up thoroughly…" He said in amusement.

Danny just rolled his eyes, finally admitting that he was just too tired to care anymore. He turned to look at his partner, needing to say something before they could leave. "Listen… For the record, it's not so bad to have a Steve in your life either… Even if you hate him most of the time…" He said, looking at his feet.

Steve laughed, reaching to open the door and help Danny inside. "Thanks partner. I love you too…" Once Danny was comfortable, he shut the door, moving to the passenger side. He knew that Danny still had a tough road ahead of him, but no matter what, Steve would be by his side every step of the way.

* * *

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason I can't see either Danny or Stan having an easy time with this whole situation, and I can't see Danny forcing his way into Charlie's life, no matter the circumstances, that's why this story came up. I'd really love to know what you guys think about it.
> 
> I'm thinking this is a good place to end this second batch of short stories, I'll probably start a new compilation once the new season starts, because I seem to need to write Danny in some kind of pain or suffering from time to time... Anyways, thank you all for all your support of these little stories, and I hope to see you around!


End file.
